Castles and Knights
by EloraSheppard
Summary: A trade negotiation doesn't quite go to plan leaving Sheppard and Weir in a tricky situation.
1. Prologue

**Title: Castles and knights**

Genre: Angst, hurt/comfort, Drama, action/adventure

Warning: Violence.

Rating: PG-13

Summary: A trade negotiation doesn't quite go to plan, leaving Sheppard and Weir in a tricky situation.

Disclaimer: They're not mine. I just borrow them from time to time and hopefully get them back in one piece

Authors notes: Thanks to my sister mariam100 for being my beta on my story and giving me useful tips.

**Prologue.**

"It's your move," Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard said with a small smile, as he observed the scene before him, "but believe me, there's no way you can win this one. I have the strategic advantage."

Doctor Elizabeth Weir looked over the chess board and frowned. She surveyed her pieces and, with a sigh, moved her king away from Sheppard's castle.

"Ha ha. See?" Sheppard moved his knight toward her. "Checkmate."

Weir smiled and started to pack her pieces back into the box. Sheppard shot her a false look of surprise.

"Oh, giving up already are we?" Sheppard's smug grin got an exasperated look from Weir.

"Yes, well unlike you, I have duties that need attending." Weir got her look returned. She turned away from Sheppard to hide the devilish grin that had spread across her face.

"I have duties too you know." Sheppard replied, sounding slightly affronted but his wide grin gave him away. "But as Teyla's on the mainland and Mckay's broken his arm, there's no mission to go on for a while and so I can sit here and beat you at chess over and over again." Sheppard leant back and crossed his arms in victory. Weir's response was to flick a pawn at him, which he caught and tossed in the box.

"Right, if you have nothing else to do, you can go see Beckett and let him have another look at the burns on your hand. I don't want it getting infected." Weir eyed the bandage suspiciously and shook her head. "I say you got off lucky compared to Mckay though. Maybe this will make you think twice before you start messing around with the puddlejumpers again."

Sheppard placed the chess box on a shelf and gave Weir a stupid, lopsided grin, "Don't blame me; Mckay was the one fiddling with the controls. It's all his fault that the console exploded." Sheppard's face became sad as he remembered his broken puddle jumper in the Jumper bay.

"Yes, I heard part of your hour long yelling session in the infirmary." Weir sighed, shaking her head slightly, "Mckay hasn't left his lab much in the past two days. I think your speech, if you can call it that, actually worked."

Sheppard looked at Weir, a guilty look now spreading across his face. "I know I was a little harsh to Mckay, but I still don't think he understands that we don't have an unlimited number of puddlejumpers and, that at the rate he's going, we won't have any left by next year." Sheppard gave Weir a dark look and turned away from her.

"Look, I know the puddlejumpers are like, I don't know, your pride and joy…" Sheppard snorted, "Or something like that but you have to remember that accidents happen. Anyway, look on the bright side, Zelenka is already working on it and he says it's fixable." Weir smiled encouragingly and, with a loud sigh, Sheppard gave in.

"Fine. Ok. I'll go talk to Mckay and forgive him for breaking it." He turned and strode out of Weir's office.

She had barely enough time to congratulate herself though, as Sheppard came walking back in. "Not right now," he said, looking rather sheepish, "I'll let him mull it over a bit more before I go talk to him." He looked at her imploringly and she gave in.

"Alright, coward, you can wait until tomorrow but no later. I need you two to make up before our next big crisis." Weir smiled smugly and walked out of her office, noticing that Sheppard followed quickly on her tail. She smiled to herself, quickly hiding it as she entered the control tower. She picked up a data pad and began to scroll through the schedule before noticing that Sheppard was still behind her. She could feel his eyes fixing her with an intense look and she couldn't help but shiver. She hated the way she reacted when he did that.

"Don't you have somewhere you could be Colonel?" She asked, the brisk authority in her voice surprising Sheppard. He looked at her, hurt. "I'm not saying that your presence isn't appreciated, but seeing as you are off-duty, shouldn't you be now enjoying some R and R." She paused her work momentarily, to shoot him look which told him that she wanted to do some work and didn't want to be disturbed.

Sheppard smiled politely. "Of course, Doctor Weir. Ronon is probably just finishing up his close combat lesson with the security force in the gym. I'll go there now and get out of your hair." He gave her a curt nod, but his eyes were dark and distant. She instantly regretted being so blunt as he turned and stalked away.

"John…" She called after him, but he ignored her and walked out of the gateroom.

"Dammit." She sighed softly. She shouldn't have been so harsh; he was only playing with her. But it was in those moments that he became more than Colonel Sheppard, ranking military officer and flyboy, and she didn't have time to deal with that at the moment.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the alarm sounding and the gate beginning to turn.

"Unscheduled off-world activation." Shouted the technician in charge of gate control.

Weir was relieved to see Sheppard come hurtling back into the gateroom. But her relief was short-lived as he blanked her, his cold professional attitude making her heart sink. Pushing these emotions to the back of her brain, she cleared her throat and took control of the situation.

"Is there an I.D.C yet?" She asked pointedly to the gate technician.

"Yes ma'am, there's one coming in right now. It's Major Lorne's identification code."

"But they shouldn't be back until tomorrow." Sheppard cut in, looking at the technician doubtfully.

"Well, Colonel, let's hope it's good news they're bringing back." Said Weir, reciprocating Sheppard's professional tone. She turned to the gate technician, "lower the shield."

To be continued

This is the first part in my story, please review and tell me what you thought and give me correction tips to make it better! If you liked it, don't worry, I'll post the next part up really soon!


	2. Chapter 1: Revisions and Provisions

**Chapter 1 – Revisions and Provisions.**

"So, brief me again on Major Lorne's mission." Weir said as she distractedly searched through files on her data pad.

Sheppard shifted in his seat and answered crisply, "well, Lorne has spent the last week with Stackhouse's team on M8G 231, or Davaros as the natives call it. They've been going over preliminary negotiations with the Davarians as they've had excess crop yield this year." He looked over at the control room and sighed. "How long does it take to shower? Lorne and his team should be here by now." He hopped out of his chair and began pacing up and down the conference room.

Giving up on her data pad, she put it down on the table and looked at Sheppard uncertainly. "John…" she started, but the sound of approaching footsteps made her falter and she saw Sheppard give her a blunt look that said 'leave it alone.'

Fighting the urge to cry, she rubbed her eyes quickly and straightened up as Major Lorne and his team came trailing in. 'For a diplomatic mission, they sure look tired.' Sheppard thought, frowning.

Noticing the frown, Major Lorne cleared his throat and said "Sir?"

Sheppard shook his head dismissively as the rest of the team turned to look at him. "It's nothing Major, I just thought you looked tired is all."

Lorne nodded respectfully and motioned for his team for his team to sit down. "Well, preliminary talks with Nayarin went well." Seeing the blank looks, he hurried to explain. "Er… the mayor of the village."

Noticing the room had fallen silent, Weir spoke up confidently. "So, what are they willing to trade with us and what exactly do you want in return?"

Sergeant Stackhouse stood up and handed Weir and Sheppard a quickly written report. Looking at it, Weir's eyes widened. "You're not serious?" she asked dubiously.

Stackhouse grinned. "I know, that's what we thought at first. But it's all true. What they are offering, if properly preserved, can last us about two or three months. And all they want in return is our stories. Real or fictional." He shrugged casually.

"You're kidding?" Sheppard said suspiciously, narrowing his eyes. "What's the catch?"

Stackhouse and Lorne looked at each other. "We've picked the treaty to pieces but we still can't find anything that points to them playing us." Lorne sighed.

"Well, it seems that their civilisation thrives on stories and tales. They're a pretty self-sufficient community so they rarely have the need to leave their village. I guess they find new stories from complete strangers to be the most important thing to trade for." Stackhouse elaborated.

Weir stared at them in disbelief. Here they were getting three months worth of food in return for a few adventures? She wasn't sure if she could believe it. Looking across at

Sheppard, she noticed that he looked very suspicious as if he was trying to find the hidden pitfall.

"What do you believe should be the next course of action, major?" Weir asked politely.

"Well, I say that notwithstanding our obvious doubts, these negotiations do look to be promising. I think we should pursue this. But, I also feel that we should be cautious about this."

Weir nodded in agreement. "Okay, I think that's wise. I'll arrange a negotiations team. Departure will be scheduled for 1600 hours tomorrow." Nodding to indicate the mission briefing was over, she frowned when she noticed no-one was moving. "What is it?"

The group looked at each other uncomfortably and stayed silent. Sighing at his team mates fear, Lorne spoke up again. "There is one small thing we have…conveniently left out." He paused and winced as he tried to think of a way to explain it delicately. "Well, on the third day, we explained our order of leadership and so on. They were very interested and they made a request that the negotiations be handled by our 'two esteemed leaders'" He looked at Weir. "It wasn't a compulsory request Doctor Weir, but I do feel that it will help the negotiations considerably."

"Um…hmm" Weir mumbled dismissively. It was rare for her to go off-world, but when she did, something bad always happened. Usually to Sheppard. Shaking her head at the thought, she noticed that everyone was looking at her, waiting to be dismissed.

Nodding softly to them, she said "I'll have to consider their request, Major Lorne. Good job on this mission, all of you. You deserve some well earned R and R. Dismissed."

As the soldiers rose and left, Weir noticed that Sheppard was also making for the exits. 'He must really be in a bad mood with me' she thought 'This one's going to take some hard grovelling.'

"Colonel" she said calmly "Can I talk to you about the preparations, please, as you do handle them usually."

Sheppard unwillingly turned around and grudgingly retook his seat. "Sure, what are the arrangements?" he asked stiffly.

"Well, I want security team 1 to accompany us to Davaros. We'll go in puddle jumper 2, so have the jumper fully stocked for all eventualities as a precaution. In our absence, I'm putting Beckett, Mckay and Zelenka in charge of the city. I'll need you to talk to them and get them apprised of the situation as I have decided to come along, o.k.?" Weir responded softly.

Standing up abruptly, Sheppard said "Is that all you need me to do; anything else you feel we need on the mission Doctor? I've got quite a lot of tasks to do in time for tomorrow otherwise." When she shook her head, he nodded back. "If you'll excuse me." Kicking his chair back under the table, he turned and walked out of the conference room.

Sighing gently to herself, she gathered her belongings and walked tiredly back to her office. Her aching muscles groaned as she collapsed into her chair.

Whenever they had a fight, no matter who was the victim of it, she always felt lime this afterward, drained, both physically and emotionally. It was a feeling that always lingered for quite a while, usually until the two of them made up. She had an inkling that the feeling would be an almost-constant companion for quite a long time. She'd never seen him look so hurt.

Sighing in self-recrimination, she opened her laptop and got to work. 'Maybe the reports I have to do will get my mind off it' she thought doubtfully.

-----

Sheppard wasn't in the best of moods. He had been reprimanded for behaving the way he always did and it hurt quite a lot. Also, he had been pulled into a mission that had no need for his skills. Normally, he wouldn't have minded, but Weir was coming along, and she was last person he wanted to be around. 'Well, her and Kavanaugh' he thought, grimly smiling. 'With my mood, Kavanaugh probably wouldn't last more than two minutes with me without getting shot.'

Striding along the corridors briskly, he looked briefly at the data file he had just completed. Noting that all his tasks involved talking with people, he changed direction and walked to his quarters instead. Looking at his watch, it read 23:19. Not wanting to wake anyone, he decided to leave the jobs till the next day.

Reaching his quarters, the door opened automatically to his thought command. Throwing off his jacket and boots, he crawled under the sheets without bothering to change.

Lying in the darkness, he glared up at the ceiling. He couldn't work Weir out sometimes and he knew that, now and then, he went too far, but she knew that he was only playing with her and he didn't understand why she was so harsh. It hurt him whenever she behaved like that.

Mind full of dark, upsetting thoughts, he slowly fell into a cold, uneasy sleep where his nightmares liked to lurk.

-----

Turning fitfully in his sleep, Sheppard's hands tightened their hold on the pillow they were firmly grasping. It was his ground, his aide through all of the nightmares.

Inside the dream world, Sheppard was in the same place, his room, standing alone in the dark, hidden in the shadows. Or not alone, as Weir edged nervously into the room.

"John?" she called softly, "John?" He stayed silent, not wanting her to be around him in his current form.

Smiling nervously, she gently joked, "So this is when I usually ask you a stupid question like how are you feeling." Pausing, she received no answer and grew scared. "John?" she called again, "Our…our team got back from the mission…"

She whirled around as the silence was broken. Sheppard stood facing her, his face almost completely transformed into the bug-like creature that was taking over. He was looking hopefully at her, his eyes begging. It broke her heart to know that she couldn't help him.

Forcing herself to look him in the eyes, she brokenly got out, "The nest was too well protected, we were unable to retrieve any eggs." Sheppard looked horrified and broken. Trying to comfort him, she quickly said, "They tried their best."

"Best?" Sheppard hoarsely questioned. Weir looked at the fire starting to build up in his eyes and stepped forward to calm him down. "The bugs attacked…" She started, but she was cut off by Sheppard, who shortly said, "Try again."

She shook her head slightly and almost whispered, "I can't do that."

"Why?" he demanded, stepping forward, anger burning in his eyes.

"John…" she started again, but was once more cut off by Sheppard. "No. If you won't, then kill me now." He growled forcefully.

She shook her head again, not accepting to believe what he was saying. "John…?"

"It's better for the both of us and you know it." He said softly, unable to hide his emotions. He looked at her sadly, begging her to accept his wish.

"I can't do that." She pleaded, praying for an alternative, tears threatening to spill down her face.

He stepped forward menacingly, emotions changing quickly. "Then try again."

She didn't answer him, but the slight shake of her head and the negative answer in his eyes pushed him over the edge. Grabbing her throat, he pushed her backwards and slammed her against the wall. Choking and gasping for breath, she managed to rasp, "We lost Walker and Stevens. I won't send another team. I won't risk more lives."

Unable to speak any longer, she tried to pull him off, but he tightened his grip, strength crushing and choking…

-----

Sheppard woke suddenly with a yell, cold and frightened. Looking around, he realised where he was and what was going on. He sighed in relief, running a shaking hand through his messy hair.

They'd never talked about it, both accepting that the incident was best kept buried. But the frequent nightmares about it constantly reminded Sheppard of what he had done and the feeling of guilt had never gone away. Not wishing to put his feelings on to her, he had bottled it up inside him and kept it from showing.

Shaking the dark thoughts from his head, he looked over at his watch hanging from his bedside lamp. Noting that it was nearly 8 'o' clock, he got out of bed heavily and walked over to his mirror. He groaned as he saw his reflection. There were dark bags under his eyes and his hair looked even messier than usual. After several attempts to make himself look more presentable, he gave up with a moan of frustration. He gave the wall a light punch and instantly regretted it. The burns on his hand erupted in pain and he cursed loudly.

Shaking his arm vigorously, he grabbed his jacket and stormed out of his quarters. 'Yep, that's a bad omen for my day' he thought gloomily as he headed for the mess hall.

He barely acknowledged anyone as he passed them, greeting them with a grunt or a nod, not stopping to chat to anyone; his tired, grumpy look warning people to leave him alone.

A lot of people had been around when Weir had reprimanded Sheppard the previous day and word had soon got around that, once again, something had happened between the two of them. Supposedly oblivious to them, they were the centre of both the rumour mill and many of the bets that were going around. Sheppard enjoyed the contents of both the rumours and bets, as many of them were incredibly far-fetched and, even more enjoyable, many were quite close to the truth.

Charging into the mess hall, he quickly noted that it was relatively empty and sped into the storeroom.

The storeroom was cold and brightly lit allowing Sheppard to see all the way to the end of the narrow room. Pulling out two boxes, he carefully proceeded to scrounge through the items on the shelves, looking for things he might need on the mission. Reaching the end of the room, his eye was caught by a small package hidden in the corner of the lowest shelf. Pocketing part of the tiny package, he smiled grimly and carefully hid the remainder of the package.

Dragging the boxes out into the mess hall, he noticed that Ronon was sitting at a table, smirking at him. Glaring at him as he dragged the boxes past him, Sheppard growled, "What?" He paused and straightened up, brushing a hand through his hair.

Ronon chuckled lightly. "Man! It looks like you had a real rough night Sheppard." Sheppard continued glowering darkly which made Ronon laugh harder.

When Sheppard growled and started to walk away, Ronon stood up quickly and held out a hand to stop Sheppard in his tracks. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But you just don't look so good and I couldn't help myself." He shrugged off-handily and gestured to the boxes. "Don't the prep techs usually sort that stuff out?"

Sheppard shrugged and handed a box to Ronon. "Yeah, but they only pack bare emergency supplies. I just felt that variety would be nice in an emergency." He raised his eyebrows suggestively. Ronon's snorted laughter got an appreciative smile from Sheppard.

Motioning toward the jumper bay, Sheppard picked up the other box and started to walk out of the mess hall, Ronon right behind.

"So, what are you planning to do while I'm gone?" Sheppard asked curiously, as they walked down a deserted corridor.

Ronon shrugged good-naturedly. "I don't know. Probably stay in the gym and train."

Sheppard stared at him, an exasperated look set on his face. "Sounds boring…" He paused momentarily. "Well, I suppose it beats hanging around here and being annoyed by C3PO, especially if he is in charge" he sympathised, shaking his head sadly. Ronon nodded thoughtfully, not fully understanding Sheppard's comment.

Not noticing, Sheppard carried on, quickening his pace as the corridors got busy. "I mean, by the time we get back, everyone's gonna be pretty pissed off 'cos Mckay's in charge."

"At least Doctors. Beckett and Zelenka will be there to calm everyone down if the situation gets out of hand." Ronon consoled. "And if that doesn't work, I'm sure no-one will mind if I go in with a stunner."

Sheppard grinned. "Mckay might."

Laughing, the two men jogged the final distance to the jumper bay. Reaching the large room, Sheppard gave his beloved, if broken, puddle jumper a pat and walked over to jumper two. The technicians and Major Lorne were already there, checking over inventory and systems. They looked up in surprise as the two boxes were dumped on the ramp.

"We were just about to do that sir." A technician stated, earning a look of reproof from Sheppard.

"Yeah, well now you don't have to and if there's an emergency, we'll have decent food." The technicians stared, stunned and Ronon exchanged an amused look from Lorne.

Sheppard stayed silent for a moment, before nervously asking, "Anyone know where Mckay is?" He looked at the techs, not sure what answer he was after.

Major Lorne jumped in deftly. "Last I checked, he was in his lab but that was about an hour ago. I did tell him to get some sleep, but he probably didn't listen. Seriously, he looked worse than you do." He smiled mockingly at his superior officer, which earnt him a glare.

"Uh, ok. I guess I'll go and check his lab and if he's not there…" He gestured wordlessly to conclude his sentence.

Lorne nodded his understanding and signalled for the technicians to continue their work. Seeing that the conversation was over, Ronon bit his fingernails distractedly and waited for Sheppard to leave.

Sheppard looked around slowly, before turning and walking away, Ronon quickly following. As they walked back through Atlantis, Sheppard mumbled to himself, thinking up topics of conversation and reuniting sentences that might get him and Mckay on friendly terms again.

Passing the gym, Ronon nodded supportively and said quietly, "good luck Sheppard."

Just as quietly, Sheppard responded with a "thanks" before proceeding on to Mckay's lab, alone. As soon as he was out of earshot, Ronon said, "You're gonna need it."

Approaching the lab, he could hear two familiar, if slightly loud, voices. It was Mckay and Zelenka, arguing over some new ancient thing, Sheppard concluded as he eavesdropped in the doorway.

"No. No. Raising the shield modulation will not eradicate the problem. I don't know how blunter I can be." Mckay shouted in an extremely irritated voice.

"Rodney, you are not listening. The…buffers can be shielded to keep it from overloading. Changing the modulation will allow us to regulate it." Zelenka's calmer voice was nearing frustration. Wanting to prevent a major escalation, Sheppard walked in and let them know of his presence.

"Hi, guys. What are you doing?" He asked, trying to sound curious, but failing miserably. Seeing Sheppard enter, Mckay fell deathly silent and looked down. Zelenka looked sadly between them.

Slightly thrown off guard, Sheppard pulled himself together and said, "um…me and Doctor Weir are going off-world to negotiate for food at 1600 hours, so she's putting you two, along with Beckett, in charge of the city, o.k.?"

Zelenka nodded enthusiastically and smiled at Mckay. "We get to play boss." He looked at Sheppard. "It's always fun."

Sheppard frowned. "Just don't overdo it o.k.? And take care of our city. I don't want to come back and see it in ruins" he added jokingly. Mckay looked up and smiled weakly.

Sheppard looked pointedly at Zelenka and gestured to the door. Nodding his understanding, Zelenka sped out of the lab. "So…umm, what are you working on?" Sheppard asked, scrutinizing the device on Mckay's desk carefully. "Looks like a smoke detector or something." Mckay laughed openly and pressed a button on the device. A holographic map appeared before them, showing them every planet and moon in the Pegasus galaxy.

"It's more than a map." Mckay commented, seeing Sheppard's unimpressed look. "Someone with the ancient gene can concentrate on anything, like a planet or a ship, and it will show where it is in the galaxy. For example, think really hard about the Daedalus."

Sheppard obliged and a few moments later, a small blue dot appeared on the map, right at the edge, and slowly inching out of the borders of the Pegasus galaxy.

"Wow, that's cool." Exclaimed Sheppard, grinning. "It works fine, though, what's the problem with it?"

Mckay showed Sheppard his notes. "It's supposed to also be able to track ships that we can't individually think about, like hive ships as they all look alike. But every time we try to activate it, it overloads and we have to abort." He sighed. "I'm almost ready to give up, to be honest."

"Nuh-uh, stick with it. It sounds promising." Sheppard replied. "I'm sure you'll work it out." Mckay smiled gratefully. Sensing an opportunity, Sheppard quickly changed the subject of conversation. "Er…listen. I wanted to apologise for my behaviour the other day. I was outta line and I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

Mckay shook his head as Sheppard came to a stop. "There's nothing to apologise for, Sheppard. Let's forget about it, shall we?"

Sheppard grinned happily. "Thanks, Mckay. Oh! How's your arm?" Mckay grinned back and held out the cast for him to see. As soon as he had, Sheppard pulled out a permanent marker and laughed evilly.

"Oh no. No no no." Mckay groaned, yanking his arm away. "No way. I'm not letting your foul mouth all over my cast, thank you."

"O.k. Compromise." Sheppard held up his hands in surrender. "How 'bout a smiley face and my name?" Mckay snorted but obediently stuck out his arm. As Sheppard started drawing, Mckay scoffed, "so childish" but Sheppard ignored him. "There. What do you think?" Sheppard leaned back to admire his work. His face fell as he saw Mckay struggling not to laugh. "What?"

"Wha…What's it doing?" Mckay sniggered, tilting his head to one side to get a better look.

"What? It's winking." Sheppard said indignantly, crossing his arms sulkily.

"Alright, I see it. Don't get moody, John." Mckay said, smiling at him.

Sheppard breathed out lightly. It felt good to have Mckay back, talking to him. Looking back at Mckay, he saw him looking nervous but expectant. "What?" he asked, frowning at Mckay. 'He definitely wants something' he thought stiffly.

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just I heard you and Elizabeth had a little…" he gestured aimlessly as he tried to think of the words, "you know, a little incident yesterday and I was wondering if you were o.k."

"No you weren't. You just want the details." Sheppard remarked, making Mckay smile sheepishly. "Look, things just got out of hand again and I got my ass reprimanded, o.k.?" There's no point going into any details as you can find out from the techs as soon as we've gone. I imagine you'll be stuck there the whole time."

Mckay stared, his eyes wide in surprise. "You mean…she did it…right in front of the control staff?" He shook his head sadly. "Ouch, poor you."

Sheppard shrugged sadly. "Yeah, but at least we have a mission to go on that will probably make things worse." He smiled gloomily. "Hopefully I can bribe her with this if things get really bad." He pulled out the small package and showed it to Mckay.

"Yep, that'll do the trick. Listen, good luck on this mission. We could use the food."

Nodding his understanding, Sheppard stood up and walked to the edge of the lab. "Hey, do you like cherries?"

Mckay looked up and frowned. "Well, I…they're not bad, why?"

Sheppard grinned. "Because Lorne said the Davarians do a great equivalent to Cherry pie." Ignoring Mckay's splutters, he turned and left, chuckling to himself. Once again walking through the corridors, Sheppard looked at his data pad. 'Okay, just Beckett left to do, then I need to report into Weir' he thought lightly, jogging towards the infirmary. Reaching the medical lab, he looked carefully at his watch and groaned. He was half an hour late for his appointment. Beckett was going to be pissed. Creeping through the doors, he tried to make it over to a hospital bed without being noticed by Beckett or the nurses, to no avail.

"Well, laddie, I see you've decided to grace us with your presence." Doctor Carson Beckett stormed over to Sheppard as he settled on one of the beds.

"Come on doc, I have been busy. Preparing to put you in charge of the city, remember?" He shot Beckett a compromising look.

"Alright." Beckett relented, reaching up to undo Sheppard's bandages, "but, if your hand has got infected, you've got no-one to blame but for yourself." Looking at the burns, Sheppard stared at Beckett worriedly, but Beckett smiled and nodded encouragingly. Sheppard sighed in relief, glad to know his arm wasn't about to drop off on him. As Beckett moved on to clean and re-bandage the burns, he turned to Sheppard with a frown on his face. "One thing I'm not sure about though. This mission is just diplomatic, right?" Sheppard nodded his confirmation. "So, why were double the usual medical supplies requisitioned for this trip?"

Realising Beckett was done, Sheppard hopped down and flexed his fingers experimentally. "Well, as Elizabeth is coming along, we felt it necessary to pack extra as a precaution." He tried a bored, couldn't care less look, but only managed to make Beckett laugh.

"We? Or more specifically you?" He asked, chuckling. Sheppard glared at Beckett before responding. "I just want to make sure we have every eventuality covered. Besides, if something happened, we'd be stuck with Caldwell in charge and I know that, were that to happen, I'd get fired in an instant."

Beckett smirked. "Aye, you would at that. You should consider yourself lucky that Elizabeth's willing to keep you."

"Mmm…" Sheppard mumbled reproachfully, glancing at the ground sadly. Beckett immediately softened. "Aye, I heard about that. How are you holding up, lad?"

"I'm o.k., just a bit ego-flattened. It's just so frustrating. Sometimes I do certain things and she smiles or laughs or whatever, but then she'll go all cold the next time I do it." He rubbed his head frantically. "Aargh, it just gives me a headache when I think about it. And now, I have to go on this mission with her, whereas before I would have been able to avoid her until this was all sorted out."

Beckett raised an eyebrow. "I don't think that's the best way to deal with things anyway, laddie."

Sheppard looked imploringly at Beckett. "What am I going to do, doc?"

"Well, the simplest thing to do would be to talk to her and forgive her, but I know that you're too stubborn for that, even with Elizabeth."

Sheppard's head snapped up. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, laddie, nothing." Beckett said hastily. "Ach, I don't know. Maybe, if you're nice and civil during this mission, things will get better on their own. But just try not to make her feel bad, o.k.?"

"I never mean to. Things just happen that are out of my control." Sheppard whined, trying his best 'puppy face' look.

"Nice try, lad." Beckett laughed. "Just as long as nothing bad happens on this mission, I'm sue you two will be 'enjoying each other's company' in no time at all."

Smiling sarcastically, Sheppard patted Beckett on the back and with a quick "thanks", he turned and jogged out of the infirmary. 'Just one more stop to make' he thought, getting nervous. 'O.k. John, just compose yourself, you can do this. Just report to Weir, tell her everything's ready and that'll be everything.' Jumping up the gate room steps two at a time, he paused as Lorne passed him, travelling in the opposite direction. "All set, Major?" he asked, pointing up to the jumper bay.

"Yessir." Lorne replied, nodding vigorously.

"Thanks major. Go get some downtime before the mission, maybe catch some sleep. And that's an order." Sheppard said sternly.

Lorne laughed. "Of course sir. See you in a couple of hours, sir." He saluted and bounded down the steps.

Taking a deep breath, Sheppard walked into the control room cautiously. The tower fell deathly silent as he entered, every head turning in his direction. Weir was looking nervously at him. Gesturing with his head to her office, she nodded and led him in. As they left, the room erupted into frantic murmurs and whispers with many people turning to look at them.

Shaking his head at their behaviour, he turned away from them and walked towards Weir's desk. "The preparations have all been completed, Doctor Weir and everything has been triple-checked for the mission. Beckett, Mckay and Zelenka are looking forward to playing boss while we're gone."

Weir nodded slowly, taking it all in. "Thank you John. What should I personally take with me?"

Sheppard considered for a moment. "Well, nothing but a data pad really. You'll be wearing a standard BDU vest so most of the things you need will be stored in there."

"Oh O.k." Weir said softly. Sheppard looked at her uncomfortably and frowned. "What is it?" She asked.

"It's just…I don't really feel comfortable with you going on this mission" Weir flinched; looking hurt "What I mean is you're our leader, so if anything happens to you, we're screwed. I personally know nothing about the Davarians so thus, making me concerned about my team's welfare. This mission isn't vital that you attend and you're best in a crisis if there is one in the city." Sheppard took a deep breath as he finished.

"Well, I'm…appreciative of your concern Colonel, but as you have said, all of the precautions have been made and it is highly unlikely that we will get into any type of trouble." Weir comforted.

"I know. I just felt that I should tell you my concerns and make it clear that I'd feel better if you were safe and sound, here at home."

"Again, thank you Colonel, but it's my decision to make and it has been made, alright?"

"Yes, ma'am, of course." Sheppard looked at his watch. "Two hours to kill. I'm gonna go catch a few winks, if that's alright with you?" He shuffled uncomfortably as he waited for a response.

"Yes, it's fine Colonel, it's good to be refreshed for the mission, and to be honest, you've looked better." Weir smiled sadly.

"Rough night." Sheppard said simply, shrugging. "Didn't actually get that much actual sleep."

He nodded politely to her, and with a small smile, he turned and walked away.

At the doorway, Weir's small voice made him pause. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He turned around and winced apologetically. "I really don't." She nodded sympathetically, and he turned out of her office, walking towards his quarters and blissful sleep.

-----

Two and a half hours later, Sheppard sat in the pilot seat of the jumper, twiddling his thumbs nervously. They were running late due to a run-in between Kavanaugh and another scientist that Weir needed to sort out.

Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned and saw a flustered Weir approaching him. She sat down heavily beside him and nodded for him to proceed.

Tossing her the BDU vest she needed to wear, he grinned. "That bad, huh?"

Glaring at the appendage she was now holding, she answered stiffly. "Let's just say Kavanaugh's lucky to still have a head." She growled.

The glowing blue of the stargate suddenly came into view as they descended into the gate room. Mckay and Zelenka were waving merrily whilst Beckett just grinned as he was busy mopping up the scientist who had got into the fight with Kavanaugh.

Smiling nervously at Weir, Sheppard looked at Lorne, nodding at the security detail. Turning his attention back to Weir, he grinned and said, "to adventure." Weir nodded apprehensively.

Reaching over to briefly grab Weir's hand to comfort her, he activated manual pilot control and sent the puddle jumper through the shimmering blue wormhole in the gate.


	3. Chapter 2: The pill

_Eheheh… um, for those of you who may have noticed, it has been a looooooong time since I started this story and I never got around to updating. Certain events at home prevented me from carrying on. The story is finished though and I will try to update often and quickly to make up for my transgression. _

_One last thing, the story was written and set during season two so Weir is a major character, yay!!!_

**Chapter 2 – The Pill.**

The jumper flew out into the bright sunlight of the planet Davaros, the light filling up the jumper's cockpit. Far below the jumper there were wide open spaces and very few signs that anyone lived there. A vast lake stood to one edge of the fields with mountains and woods surrounding the other sides of the land. It was a breathtaking sight and, as soon as they had exited the wormhole, the people in the jumper were caught up in a collective gasp of admiration.

Sheppard looked over at Weir who was staring out of the window, enchanted by the beauty of it. He smiled to himself, glad she had decided to come. Noticing someone was staring at her; she turned and glanced at Sheppard, smiling appreciatively.

"It's beautiful." She breathed, her eyes lit up in wonder. Sheppard nodded eagerly in agreement.

Sheppard turned his head slightly to get Lorne's attention. Lorne was smiling smugly and was clearly amused at something, but he made his best attempts to hide it as the two leaders glared at him. "The village is a little way out. On the other side of the lake. That's why Teyla had never met them; they have no access to the stargate."

Sheppard nodded, still glaring at Lorne slightly. He turned the puddle jumper around and headed toward the lake they had just passed. As he manoeuvred the jumper, he caught Weir looking at him, clearly interested in something.

"What?" he asked indignantly, staring her down.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just the big grin you have on your face right now." She smirked gently, "let's just say, I wish I had a camera right now."

Sheppard glared at her before trying to hide his joy. It proved more difficult than he thought.

Noticing that Weir was having equal difficulty controlling her laughter, he cleared his throat pointedly, "Er Lorne, how far to the village again?"

Lorne choked back a laugh and calmly said, "Just over that hill, sir. It's in a cosy little valley, quite protected against the wraith." He pointed over the hill at a now visible line of smoke wafting out of the valley, "It's quite a beautiful town actually."

"Ah, who's the sentimentalist?" Sheppard mocked as the town came into view.

"Colonel." Weir scolded gently, sending a commiserating look at Lorne. Sheppard shook his head at her, and sulkily turned his attention back to safely landing the jumper. 'Not that I need to think about it' he thought smugly, 'this is easier than a walk in the park.'

Lost in his thoughts of where the saying came from, he barely noticed that the jumper had landed and he had sent the command to open the rear hatch.

"Colonel?" Weir asked, gently touching his shoulder, effectively snapping him out of his daydream.

"Huh? Oh… right we're here." His dazed, faraway look made Weir look at him strangely. "It's nothing, Elizabeth, honest."

Weir rolled her eyes at him and wandered down the ramp toward the security escort that were waiting for them. Sheppard decided he would ask her about it later, and eagerly followed her out of the jumper.

-----------

The trip to the town seemed to take longer than the group thought it would. Sheppard had insisted that the jumper be parked a twenty minute walk from the town, as "a safety precaution" and with it two of the security escort to stop any of the townsfolk snooping. The journey was spent in a comfortable silence, with Sheppard and his three military escorts, including Lorne, keeping a sharp eye out for any lurking trouble. Even though they had already spent a considerable amount of time with these people, it was a general decision that everyone still had to be wary when they were meeting potential allies. No-one wanted a repeat of the Genii incident

Though nothing was said, Sheppard couldn't help but notice how different Weir looked. In her office she always looked exhausted and stressed and Sheppard was convinced that she wasn't eating right, but out in the open, she looked young and beautiful, the suns light reflecting off her skin giving her a radiant glow. She also had a beautiful smile on her face, turning rapidly to take all of the scenery in and not wanting to miss a thing. Sheppard could remember when he first felt like that, but that feeling, though not gone, had dwindled considerably as time went on and the dangers got bigger. He hoped that one day he could get that feeling back but right now he was content that Weir was enjoying herself.

As they rounded the final set of fields that lay on the outskirts of town, they caught sight of the houses and barns clearly and Weir let out a gasp. Though the town was rather small, it appeared to have a lot of life in it and the whole place looked very appealing and welcoming. Sheppard narrowed his eyes suspiciously, something about this place wasn't quite right. Putting the thoughts down to past experiences, he followed Weir and Lorne's lines of sight and smiled appreciatively.

It appeared that the entire town had come out to welcome them to Davaros. A large congregation were clustered in the narrow road. Weir turned and raised her eyebrows at Sheppard before stepping forward confidently, Sheppard barely two paces behind, P90 clutched tightly in his hands, ready to snap up at the smallest sign of trouble.

An old, white bearded man also took a step forward and bowed low to Sheppard and Weir. "Welcome, my lord and lady, to our village. We hope it is to your liking and that you decide to stay for quite a while." His smile was infectious and seemed to ooze kindness and safety. Sheppard clutched his gun that much harder, narrowing his eyes slightly at the lack of caution of the man.

"I am Nayarin, mayor of Davaros" he gestured behind him to indicate his village.

"It is a very beautiful place, Mayor Nayarin." Weir smiled, warmth imbuing her voice. She looked at Sheppard and he silently nodded his agreement.

"Please, call me Nayarin. I'm not one for formal titles, Lady Weir." Nayarin smiled respectfully.

"Well in that case, you can call me Elizabeth." Nayarin turned to look at Sheppard, and, noticing that Sheppard wasn't going to speak, she hastily said, "and this is John Sheppard, my military commander." She elbowed Sheppard in the stomach and he cautiously edged forward to shake Nayarin's hand.

Noticing Sheppard's discomfort, Nayarin decided to move events on swiftly and he held his arms out invitingly. "The evening meal is almost prepared. Please, allow me to have your belongings taken to your quarters and follow me to the great hall where the meal is taking place."

Weir lowered her head slightly in a show of respect and walked into Nayarin's waiting arms. With his arm around her shoulder, he led her into the largest building that Sheppard could see.

Lorne came up behind him, and whispered gently in his ear, "looks like you have some competition, sir. Maybe you should go with her and make sure nothing happens."

Sheppard sent Lorne a look of disgust, but turned round nonetheless and followed resolutely into through the wooden doors.

The first thing he noticed as he walked through was how cold it was. It didn't seem to tally with the bright, hot sun that burned outside. Every minute, he was sensing that more and more things on this planet didn't feel right, but looking across at Weir; he surmised that it was only because she was with them on this particular trip. Deciding to let it slide, he walked over to join the conversation that had Nayarin and Weir deeply engrossed.

-----------

The meal passed quickly with little event, and the conversation did little to encourage Sheppard's attention. He spent the evening picking at the strange food and watching Weir's face as she stayed in constant conversation with the leaders she was surrounded by. She seemed to be in her element, talking animatedly and listening eagerly to the Davarian tales.

Finally, the last course, a weird cherry style pudding, was cleared away, and a barrel of ale was bought out in its place. Sheppard yawned slightly, using a sloppy hand to cover it up. Lorne was slouching down in his chair, trying to keep his tired eyes open. Even Weir appeared to be losing her energy, though she was doing a good job of covering it up.

Just as Sheppard felt he could not stay awake much longer, and in fact Major Lorne had fallen asleep, Nayarin came to the last point of conversation. Noticing the serious tone in his voice, Sheppard abandoned his annoyed thoughts at Lorne, and leaned in to catch what the Mayor was saying.

"…and it is a custom that we protect all that come to our village, though few do. That is why we are offering you this drug." He produced a small pill from inside his coat. "I swear to you that it has no ill effects and it will protect you from the wraith while you are here in Davaros." He looked imploringly at Weir, and she returned his stare nervously. "I can understand your caution but our civilisation is linked to this pill and some of my people may think it an offence if you do not wish to take an object that they provide in good faith." Sheppard narrowed his eyes at the mayor's attempts at distancing himself from his people to remain on their side. It did not make him feel any safer.

Weir looked across at Sheppard nervously, and gently stammered, "Well, I… I feel that…." The room fell deathly silent as everyone stopped to listen to what her answer was. All that could be heard was the sound of the night birds outside and major Lorne's snuffling snores.

Unable to find the words, Weir looked across at Sheppard, clearly uncomfortable with giving an answer. Taking control, Sheppard calmly said, "I'm sure that we all feel very tired now, mayor. Perhaps these enlightening conversations should take place when we are all refreshed from a good nights sleep."

Nayarin nodded slowly and rose wearily, Weir and Sheppard following suit. "Yes, I feel that you are right" he said slowly, "It is quite late. We will continue this conversation tomorrow."

He nodded to them and left the room, pausing to murmur orders to a young man waiting by the door. The young man smiled at everyone as the room emptied, the Davarians all bidding the two leaders goodnight. Finally, Sheppard, Weir, Lorne and the young ma were all that remained in the room.

Sheppard moved over to Lorne and poked him ferociously. "Wha…? Wha's goin' on?" He muttered feebly.

Sheppard glared at him. "You fell asleep."

Lorne looked a little sheepish "Oops…" He shook his head vigorously to wake himself up. "Sorry sir."

"Hmm…" Said Sheppard sternly. "Go check in with Lieutenant Walman and set up a security perimeter before laying down for the night."

"Yes sir" Lorne snapped to attention, eager to gain some credence back after his mishap. He scooted out of the room and Sheppard and Weir followed to the door slowly.

-----------

The young man led them through the now deserted streets towards a large house near the centre of town. Opening the door as quietly as possible, he lit a small fire torch and proceeded to walk them up the dark narrow corridors of the house.

Lowering his voice top barely above a whisper, he calmly breathed "We need to be very quite as the mayor's wife and children were in bed a long while ago. The mayor has kindly allowed you to share in his house during your stay." Turning to them, he smiled, his face eerie in the light of the flames.

"Right, of course, we'll be discrete." Sheppard whispered respectfully. "Um… how will we be able to contact anyone if we need to?"

The young man bowed his head, "No worry, my lord, I will be right outside the door should you need anything at all during the night." He grinned at them as if this was a great honour.

Sheppard shot a surprised look at Weir and she returned it wearily. "So, you won't be sleeping yourself?"

"No my lord" came the eager reply, "I slept all of yesterday to prepare for your arrival. It is considered a great honour to serve you my lord."

Sheppard stared at the young man, dumbstruck at his loyalty. 'This would be a great guy to have in Atlantis' he thought quickly, whilst saying "That is very honourable of you sir, thank you. Before I forget, what shall we call if we need to talk to you?"

The young man looked around quickly, before grinning. "My name is Laeos, but really I am not to tell you my name, so if you need me, call me Steward."

Sheppard grinned and the disregard for orders and leaned toward Laeos. "Thank you Laeos, we won't forget what you're doing for us."

Laeos looked stunned for a moment but quickly regained his composure. "Your quarters are through here my lord; I hope you find them to your liking." He slowly opened the door with a tiny creak "I'll be out here if you need anything, anything at all."

Sheppard bowed his head respectfully and gently led Weir into the room with his arm. As they stood in the doorway, the door closed gently beside them. The room was small but had a nice comfortable feel to it. There was a small basin on a pedestal in the corner, and a small door that led out onto a balcony overlooking the town. Their bags had been placed near the bed and as they walked towards their packs, they noticed a big problem.

There was only one bed.

Sheppard and Weir looked around the room desperately looking for another bed, hoping that they had overlooked the presence of a bed in a corner. However, after a quick scan, none was found. Sheppard looked uncomfortably at Weir, starting to get hot under the collar. "Er… I…." Sheppard stammered before crossing towards the door and flinging it open viciously.

Laeos stood watching in shock as Sheppard glared at him. "We," he pointed at himself and Weir, "have a problem. There seems to be a miscounting in people and beds." He jerked his thumb back into the room.

Laeos looked a little sheepish as he played with the hem of his tunic, "Well, sir. This was the only room available in the whole town and we did not have enough time to remedy the problem. To be honest, we had hoped that you would be so tired that you wouldn't notice." He grinned sheepishly and looked down at the ground. "I can raise the mayor; see if we can find a place for you both to stay."

He turned away to walk down a corridor, but Sheppard held out his arm to stop him. "It's okay, don't wake anyone up. I'm sure that we can sort something out." He nodded to Weir and she smiled back, trying to hold back her weary amusement.

"Well, ok sir, goodnight." Laeos smiled and re-shut the door.

Sheppard turned to Weir. "Well, what are we going to do?" He stared at the floor. It didn't look too comfy, "I suppose I could…" he pointed to the floor and inwardly winced at the prospect.

"Don't be silly Colonel, I'm sure we can cope. We've handled problems bigger than this. And I mean it's not like anything is going to happen." She raised her eyebrows suggestively, and shook her head good-naturedly.

"Oh… er… I suppose you're right." Sheppard mumbled looking nervously at Weir and she smirked back at him. She turned her back on him, taking her jacket and boots off, and settling under the covers. Sheppard stood in shock for a moment before following suit. As he settled next to Weir, he heard her draw in a breath as his hands brushed her arms.

"What?" He asked, turning to look at her with concern etched over his face.

Weir giggled gently, fully relaxed. "Your hands are cold."

Sheppard gave her a grin and kicked off his socks, "Well, if you think they are cold…" He didn't need to finish as he planted his foot on her arms, delighting in the small scream which she quickly stifled.

Turning to glare at him, he gave her his best 'puppy dog' look and she burst into laughter. "You are going to be the death of me, Colonel Sheppard."

Sheppard smiled beautifully and wiggled his toes up her arm, receiving little shivers and glares.

Yawning gently, she settled down in the covers and felt Sheppard imitate her. As the two got settled, she turned to him, and poked him gently.

"Hnuh?" Sheppard asked sleepily, all signs of his previous energy gone.

"We need to talk about Nayarin's proposal." She waited but received no answer. "John?"

"Tomorrow." Sheppard said shortly, pulling the covers around him, "Let's talk about it tomorrow."

Noticing that Sheppard was uneasy about the topic, Weir decided to broach the topic in the morning, settling down as close to Sheppard's warmth as she dared.

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"They are finally asleep, my lord." Laeos said softly as he stood outside the guests' door. Mayor Nayarin came into the torchlight and looked at Laeos, his brows knitted in deep thought.

"Very well, have the transmitter staff send a message to our 'friends'." He said the word friends with hostility and Laeos backed away slightly. "Tell them we have something they may want and we are willing to trade with them."

Laeos nodded sadly and hastened to do his lords bidding. Nayarin sighed gently and put his hand against Sheppard and Weir's door. "I'm sorry, my friends" he sighed gently before walking dejectedly back to his room.

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The sun rose weakly against the small window slit, sending sunlight streaming into the room. Sheppard groaned as the sunlight directed itself into his eyes and he turned away to help him get back to sleep. As he turned over, he was met with a muffled squeak as he felt something soft get crushed beneath him. Frowning in confusion, he quickly replayed the night's events, until with a start; he jumped off of Weir and crashed on the floor.

Weir's face appeared over the side of the bed, clearly torn between amusement and concern. "Are you alright?" she asked, trying to sound concerned.

As the stars and spots in his vision had cleared, he grimaced up at her. "Yeah, sorry for crushing you."

Weir brushed aside the apology. "You were asleep. Besides you aren't as heavy as your muscles say." She winked at him and eased herself out of the bed, looking around for her boots.

Pushing himself to his feet, he winced at his backs protest and glared at the bed as if it was its fault.

"I take it you slept well, then" He said grumpily, looking at Weir's cheerful expression. Her only reply was to smile smugly.

He yawned and stormed out onto the balcony to try and wake himself up. The weak sunlight was not any warmer outside and it felt to Sheppard that the sun was sending cold not warmth in its rays.

The town was already busy, with the street below already a commotion of stalls and market shops open. Young girls and their mothers were weaving through the crowds with small wicker baskets hanging off their arms. 'So, obviously not very advanced in their ideas' he thought critically. Thinking back, he couldn't remember there being any women at the banquet at all. He wondered if Weir had noticed it.

Giving the sun one last glare at its pitiful attempt, he wandered warily back into their room and rubbed the stubble on his chin thoughtfully. He anxiously watched Weir as she walked around the room doing various tasks. As she started brushing her hair, Sheppard picked up his boots and sat down on the newly-made bed.

As he started fiddling with a knotted bootstrap, Weir looked over at him and bit her lip. She wasn't sure how to broach last night's topic and from his attitude to the conversation the previous night, he wasn't too happy about having the discussion.

Sensing that he was being watched, Sheppard looked up at Weir and sent her a quizzical, if slightly nervous, look. She cleared her throat and decided to just bite the bullet.

"John…I think we need to talk about Nayarin's proposal" she said calmly, repeating the words she had said the previous night.

Sheppard looked back down to his bootlaces and sighed. "I don't really have much in way of words. Other than no way." He punctuated his final words by jamming his boot violently on to his foot.

Weir sighed gently, expecting this off Sheppard. "John, I know you're cautious but we have to consider this as part of our treaty. It does seem that they genuinely want to protect us from the Wraith." She walked over and gently sat next to him.

Sheppard spared her half a glance before turning back to dressing himself. Weir sighed softly. "Look John" she said, placing a hand on his arm, "I know all of your instinct and training has taught to never accept strange substances, but try to think about it. If they had any intention of harming us, don't you think they would have last night at dinner? I mean, we did eat a lot of food last night."

Sheppard snorted, "yes, but I waited until the Davarians had eaten some of the same thing." Weir looked at him startled, and he smiled, "I've had bad experiences with drugs, so I'm a little extra cautious when it comes to these things."

"So that's why you don't like being pumped full of drugs by Beckett," Weir realised, "I wondered why you were so difficult."

Sheppard stood up abruptly and looked down at her. "Look, I just hate feeling helpless, and having drugs floating around your bloodstream is something you can't control." He pulled on his jacket and brushed a hand through his hair.

Weir stood up and walked over to him, locking eyes with him. "I know your instincts, but don't you have an instinct to trust me?" She looked at him imploringly and he melted, causing an internal turmoil to erupt in his head.

Sheppard rubbed his temples in an effort to come to a conclusion. "Okay, look. If they don't say anything, we don't bring it up. And if they do…" He paused for a moment, "we'll discuss it then." He shook his head, hoping it was enough of a compromise.

"That's not exactly the compromise I was looking for John," Weir commented gently, "and that's not the sort of compromise you'd give either. What's really wrong? You've been funny since before the mission began."

Sheppard sat down gently and sighed. "Do you know what today is?" he asked gently.

"Yes it's October 24th, why?" Weir frowned, her confusion evident.

"Do you know what happened on October 23rd last year?" Sheppard prompted.

"Well, we'd been in Atlantis about six months and… oh." She quietly tailed off, her eyes dark with the realisation.

"It came back to me a few days ago." Sheppard said softly, sending her a quiet, pained look.

Weir smiled sympathetically, "John the Genii invasion wasn't your fault. Kolya didn't win, and we're okay. There's no point dwelling in the past."

"Did you read the report I gave you?" Weir nodded cautiously, "did you see how many men I killed? Most of those were probably doing what I was, defending their people. They probably didn't know what they were getting themselves into."

"Sheppard." Weir said firmly, making his eyes snap up to meet hers. "I'm glad you did what you sis. In fact, I'm proud of you. If you hadn't done that I wouldn't be here today and we would be slaves to the Genii. So don't you dare beat yourself up because you acted like a hero that day."

Sheppard locked eyes with her, a grin forming on his face. Weir smiled at him. He stood up and they gave each other a gentle hug.

After what seemed an age, Sheppard pulled apart and smile, slightly embarrassed that she had seen him in a moment of weakness. Weir nudged him playfully, "Let's just go down and greet the Davarians, we don't have to talk about the pill thing right now."

Sheppard looked at her gratefully and led the way out of their room. Weir sighed. It surprised her that Sheppard had let the barrier down on his defences long enough to talk to her about it. She also knew that they had not got around to the topic that she felt was quite important, and was angry at herself for letting him slide over it. 'We're going to have to talk about it sometime." She thought, shaking her head in uneasy anticipation. She followed quickly behind his retreating back, noticing, with some humour, the discrete looks he gave her when he thought she wasn't looking, making sure she was okay.

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The main banquet hall looked very different in the daylight. Where the large tables had been were small market stalls and tables that were packed tightly together. Early morning market shoppers were milling around with baskets, chatting loudly to one another.

As Sheppard and Weir walked in, the market grew quieter as people stopped their activities to look at them. Many bowed as they passed them with murmurings of "my lord" and "good morning, lady." Sheppard and Weir responded with smiles and inclined their heads in response.

Mayor Nayarin was standing at a group of tables, beckoning them over. Sheppard took hold of Weir's arm and guided her through the crowds over to the tables. Nayarin bowed as they arrived next to him, and beamed at them. "Good Morning! Did you have a good night's sleep?" He asked energetically, grinning at them.

Weir smiled, sparing an amused glance at Sheppard, who had his eyebrows raised at the Mayor's energy. "Yes, thank you it was very refreshing."

The mayor nodded happily and turned to the woman sitting beside him. "This is my wife Alexria. She has offered to show you around our town before we start the negotiations" Alexria stood up and smiled sweetly. Sheppard brightened as he took notice of her and smiled. She was a young woman with very striking features, and Sheppard couldn't help wondering why she married an old man like Nayarin. Weir glared reproachfully at his staring and he crumpled with embarrassment and averted his gaze.

"We would enjoy seeing your town in detail. We did not get much chance to on the trip to the hall last night." Weir said respectfully, nudging Sheppard covertly in the ribs, forcing him to emit a pained "Yep."

Nayarin clapped his hands loudly and cheerfully said, "Right then, Alexria will take you around the town and we will prepare for our negotiations so we're ready when you return."

With the finality in the statement, those seated around the tables stood up and went about their jobs. Nayarin bowed one last time and left with a group of men following behind him, talking loudly with each other. Alexria remained at the table, smiling nervously at them.

Weir nodded at her and then nudged Sheppard. "Ready to go?" Sheppard nodded his confirmation, and went back to rubbing the bruise on his side.

As Alexria turned away and shouted for some people, Sheppard whispered to Weir, "Don't you think we should check in with the jumper?" He raised his eyebrows pointedly and nodded toward the door.

Weir shook her head. "This has all been prepared quite tightly. Lets go on the tour and check in as soon as it's finished just before the negotiations start." She turned away to see four children come running to Alexria's calls.

"Finally, I was calling for a while there." She smiled at the children's ashamed expressions. "Never mind, I would like you to meet our guests. This is Lady Elizabeth and Lord John. They are originally from the city of the ancestors."

The three girls looked at the adults with awe, but the teenage boy narrowed his eyes. "So you were there when it got destroyed? You can't be that strong if you couldn't protect your homes. Even we can do that." He smirked.

"Alecos!" his mother said sharply, giving him a sharp cuff around the head, "don't be so rude! Now apologise."

The boy pawed the ground with his foot before quietly saying, "I'm sorry."

"That's okay, Alecos" said Weir kindly "are you joining us for the tour?"

Alecos brightened at Weir's friendliness "uh-huh! I'm gonna show you the best places in Davaros. All the places the grown-ups won't show you!" He started bouncing around happily.

"Alecos…" his mother warned severely.

"I know mother, they're not here to see the farms" he grumbled. He looked at Weir, "but the farms are the best part of the town. With the animals and crops and…"

"That's boring!" the youngest girl interrupted, "grown ups want to see buildings and paintings and stuff."

"Alright you two, enough. Let's get started" Alexria sighed, shaking her head apologetically at Sheppard and Weir.

"Where are we taking them first mumma?" the youngest girl chirped.

"Well, Elvria, I was thinking the outskirts through back to here, agreed?" she smiled at Weir, who laughed gently at the girl's persistence.

"Okay." She said bounding out of the hall. A few moments later she bounded back in and quipped "Are we going?"

With a laugh the three adults left with the four children, all four clustered around Sheppard and Weir, all competing for the most attention.

-----------

An hour and a half later, Sheppard and Weir fell exhausted into the chairs in the hall. The children had been insistent on showing them every place in town, Alecos making sure they spent 20 minutes at the farms.

Though the town appeared small, it soon turned out that there were a hundred and one things to be seen, and of course the guests had to see them, the children had concluded.

Sighing heavily, Weir rubbed the soles of her feet and looked over at Sheppard. "We need to check in with the security team."

Sheppard groaned. "Do I have to? I'm tired." He whined.

Weir smirked. "You sound like Mckay" Sheppard glared at her and tiredly got to his feet. Just as he made for the exit, Nayarin and his followers walked out and clapped loudly "Did you enjoy the tour?" he looked at his wife who smiled wearily, holding a sleeping Elvria in her arms.

"Yes, it's a beautiful town. It's difficult to believe that we thought it to be small when we first arrived, there's so much to see." Weir said emphatically.

Nayarin smiled appreciatively, and nodded to Sheppard "Are you ready to start the negotiations?" he asked, reaching out to ruffle his son's hair.

"Of course" Weir confirmed sending a subtle 'shut up' to Sheppard as he opened his mouth to protest.

"Well then, Alexria this could take some time. If you could alert the kitchen staff that dinner should be started just before sunset.

Alexria nodded, leading her children in the direction of the kitchens. Nayarin smiled at his wife's back before leading the group into a small, quiet chamber off of the main hall.

-----------

"Well, that settles that then," Nayarin boomed, putting down the finished document on the table. "For a 20 portion of our crops, you will give us your database of tales and a treaty will be formed for assistance if either of us is attacked." He looked at Weir for confirmation, and she nodded her agreement, smiling widely.

"Now, there's just one thing our people need to discuss with you." Nayarin spoke uneasily, lowering his voice considerably. "Our people's legacy, our drug. Will you accept it from us as a sign of good faith? We can assure you that it will provide no ill effects, we promise. Our people will see this as a good sign to our treaty and will be pleased that you trust us enough to accept our trust."

Sheppard narrowed his eyes threateningly "what does it do?" he asked slowly, putting force into his words.

"It merely provides a defence against the wraith's weapons. It is… hard to explain but it means that you can't be harmed by the wraith."

Nayarin finally quietened and stared at the two leaders of Atlantis with hope shining in his eyes. Weir slowly looked at Sheppard, clearly torn about what to do. She could see that Sheppard was having the same battle in his own head, but after a while he gave a small, unsure nod, his message clear, 'I'm trusting you on this Elizabeth, you'd better be right.'

Weir winced inwardly, hoping she was making the right choice, both for their sakes and for the future friendship and trust between them that was now in jeopardy. Closing her eyes briefly, she quickly prayed it was the right decision, and looked up at Nayarin.

"On behalf of the Atlantean people, we accept the offer of trust between our peoples and agree to take your protection." She avoided using the word drug to try and make Sheppard feel better about the agreement; though she could see it hadn't worked.

Nayarin seemed to brighten considerably at her words and clapped his hands together happily. A follower reached into his robes and pulled out a small box and placed it in Nayarin's hands. Sheppard and Weir held their breath nervously. Nayarin smiled reassuringly and opened the box, allowing Weir and Sheppard to take a pill each. Sheppard glared at the small white drug, clearly torn between his trust in Weir and his hatred of strange substances. Finally, he took a deep breath and placed the pill in his mouth, taking a deep swig from his canteen. Weir was about to follow suit but he placed his arm out to stop her and swallowed awkwardly. There was a tense moment as the group watched Sheppard nervously, but after a minute, he seemed to decide that it was safe for Weir to copy him and handed her the canteen. She quickly swallowed the awkward shape and shivered to relieve the tension in her body.

Nayarin smiled gently at the exchange and nodded knowingly. "I find your protectiveness touching, Lord Sheppard." Sheppard felt the colour rising in his cheeks, "but we assured you that no ill effects will befall from taking the drug."

"How exactly does it work?" Weir asked curiously.

"Well, it prevents the wraith form stunning us, as we cannot be rendered unconscious by their weapons; it is an advantage that we must continually take to keep it." He smiled sadly, "your drug will wear off in time."

Sheppard let out a relieved breath. The thought of having something permanently coursing through his bloodstream was not the most pleasant thing Sheppard could think of. Weir smiled at his reaction, and patted his arm secretly.

Nayarin, not noticing, looked out over his town and sighed. "It's nearing sunset, we should all go and prepare for dinner. We would be grateful if the other members of your group would join us."

Sheppard jumped at the opportunity. "Uh…yeah, we'll contact them now and invite them." He smiled innocently and looked at Weir.

"Of course, we'll allow you to have your privacy. There's a small garden at the back of this house where no-one will bother you." He nodded to his followers and they left one by one, smiling strangely.

"Okay, creepy" Sheppard said at the follower's retreating backs. He shook his head and indicated the back door. "Wanna keep watch just in case?"

Weir laughed gently, "John, it's amazing you trust _me_ with your cautiousness." But she followed him nevertheless and stood observing in the doorway as he walked out into the garden.

"Lorne, Lorne come in" Sheppard said impatiently, tapping his fingers in a rhythm Weir couldn't quite pick up.

A few moments later, Lorne's crackly voice came over the radio, "Sir? About time, we were beginning to get worried."

Sheppard snorted, "Yeah right, you're just waiting for the promotion Lorne. We just didn't get a chance to before, we've been busy."

"Yeah, well next time be more careful, it's not so much you that I'm worried up but if Doctor Weir gets hurt, all the blame will be stuck on you." Lorne's retort was difficult to hear as a low rumbling noise had just started somewhere.

Trying to ignore it, Sheppard frowned and growled back "Is this Lorne takes no responsibility day today?"

When Lorne did not answer, Sheppard frowned again, worried he was too harsh.

"Lorne?" he questioned.

When he still received no answer, he looked at Weir worried, and she returned the look.

"Lorne? Are you okay?" He asked loudly.

"Er, sir… go look outside" Lorne's voice shook as he spoke, invoking fear in Sheppard. Lorne was hardly afraid of anything.

"Why?" he asked, not liking the game of guess what's going on?

Lorne's only response before he cut off was, "'cos you're not gonna like what you see."

As Lorne cut off, Sheppard looked at Weir with fear, finally allowing the noise of the village reach his ears. The low rumbling had become a roar above them and several cries and screams could now be heard from the other side of the building.

Looking up, Sheppard could see nothing but buildings, so he grabbed Weir's hand and pulled her through the house to find out what the commotion was. He was surprised to find the main hall abandoned and tightened his grip on Weir, leading her out into the open.

As they reached the outside, he noticed people running around, and he heard several women and children screaming. Following the lines of sight of the villagers, who were staring wide-eyed and petrified. Looking up at the sky, he saw the horror of his worst nightmare in the air, and beside him, he felt Weir gas in horror and move closer to him for protection.

In the air, directly above the town, was a wraith cruiser, the belly of the ship directly above where Sheppard and Weir stood.


	4. Chapter 3: Hide and seek

_A/N: see? I've turned over a new leaf!! I promise I'll update regularly. There are fifteen or sixteen (I've forgotten...)chapters so I should be finished in around a fortnight or so… I may even update tomorrow… if I get some motivation in the form of reviews!_

**Chapter 3 – Hide and Seek.**

"John?" Weir's uncertain whisper startled Sheppard out of his horrified reverie. She crept closer to him, hugging her body against his in fear. He barely noticed what he was doing as he gently edged the two of them into the shadows.

Against the wall of the building, Sheppard peered up at the cruiser and frowned. It was hovering above the village menacingly but it was making no action to cull the village at all.

Beside him, Weir started to shake as she struggled to maintain her composure. Sheppard squeezed her hand gently in reassurance and forced himself to tear his eyes away from the cruiser and look down at her.

Noticing her barely concealed fear, he clasped her hand ever more tightly and began to edge them through the shadows of the building, returning his eyesight back to the cruiser. Concerned at the Wraith's lack of action, he looked round the area suspiciously, continuing to edge himself and Weir through the shadows.

As they neared the corner of the building that led to the main square, Sheppard picked up the sound of approaching voices. Straining to distinguish the voices, Sheppard heard the low rumble of a wraith and a frightened squeak that he made out to be human. His eyes widened as he realised that it was Nayarin.

Looking across at Weir, he saw the same shocked expression spread across her face. She shook her head in confusion and looked up at Sheppard, the question of the betrayal clear in her look.

Sheppard shook his head sadly in response and put his finger to his lips as the voices became clear enough to discern.

"….Been ready to deliver to us" the wraith growled ferociously.

"Yes my lord, they should have been" Nayarin whimpered "but you are earlier than we predicted and we could not act unnaturally or the Lanteans would have become suspicious of us."

The wraith smirked viciously "yes, I thought your people unable to overpower anything with force. You should be glad that you're just advanced enough to think up flawed plans like these."

Now in view, Sheppard saw Nayarin bow weakly. The wraith smirked even harder and turned to face the accompanying wraith soldiers.

"No matter" he sighed dismissively "we shall find them with little trouble." He hissed to one wraith soldier who nodded sharply and stormed away from the group.

Silence reigned for a few minutes and all Sheppard could hear was his own hollow breathing and Weir's gentle, stifled breath beside him. Looking around the corner again, he saw the Wraith pacing impatiently, his white hair shining in what little moonlight filtered down around the wraith cruiser. Beside him, Nayarin fidgeted nervously and cast furtive glances up at the cruiser.

After a few minutes of silence, a loud whine pierced the air, followed quickly by several more. Dread filled Sheppard's stomach as he recognized the sound and he stared up at the sky.

Weir looked up as he did and let out a horrified gasp as dozens of wraith darts came flying out of the cruiser. They began to fly above the village in wide circles.

"What are they doing?" Weir whispered, staring fearfully at a nearby dart.

Not finding a way to comfort her, he decided on telling the truth. "They're searching… for us." He squeezed her hand and locked eyes with her "you o.k.?"

She nodded fervently, her eyes giving away her fear. Not wishing to push further, he nodded around the corner and indicated for her to keep lookout. Not letting go of her hand, he reached up and activated his radio again.

"Lorne, come in" Sheppard hissed, trying to keep his voice to a quiet yet legible volume.

"Sir?" came the hurried response "are you alright? We didn't want to raise you just in case you were hiding" Major Lorne's voice instinctively lowered to Sheppard's level.

"Yeah we're okay. Looks like Nayarin and his people sold us out. The wraith aren't here to cull, they're looking for us."

Lorne cursed "you gotta get outta there sir. Hold tight, we'll come to get you." The sounds of a commotion came swimming over the radio.

John looked down at Weir and reluctantly made a tough decision, "negative Major, stay where you are."

"But sir!" Lorne protested loudly, quickly stifling his voice. Sheppard saw Weir give an involuntary shiver of unease but she nodded her head resolutely in agreement.

"I'm serious Major, the jumper could never land anywhere secret enough where the wraith wouldn't be able to pick it up and you can't land in an open area because you'd have to de-cloak for us to find you."

He paused momentarily and Lorne began to argue his case again. Sheppard quickly cut him off "_and, _you can't come find us yourselves because that'll put you in the same position as us and you might get captured. No, we'll come to you. Stay cloaked and keep the jumper powered up. We'll meet you at the landing site."

There was a long silence on the other end that ended just short of insubordination "yes sir, we'll keep the porch light" he paused again "be careful sir, ma'am."

Assured that his soldiers were safe, he turned his attention back to himself and Weir "right" he whispered urgently, pulling Weir around to face him. Her resolution in spite of her fear was amazing him but he was recriminating himself for putting her in this situation and he wasn't sure how much more she'd be able to face if things got worse. '_If, no WHEN, we get back to Atlantis, I'll make extra precautions if she ever went on a mission again. And I'm not sure that's going to happen for a long while' _he thought fiercely to himself.

"We've got to get back to the jumper, Elizabeth" Weir nodded looking up into his eyes, placing her full trust in him. Sheppard gulped nervously "the quickest way is through the centre of town, but by the looks of it, the wraith are all over it. I don't think that the villagers know about the scheme" a piercing scream seemed to confirm his idea "so if we go through the outskirt buildings and keep to the shadows, we should be alright."

He put as much conviction into his voice, hoping she would buy it. She nodded to him, seemingly unable to speak. Taking one more glance around at the area, he raised his P90 to his chest and held it with one hand firmly. Weir loosened her hold on his hand in case he needed to use it, and he turned to her "whatever you do, don't let go of my hand, and…no matter what, you get to the jumper, o.k.?"

Weir stayed silent for a moment before nodding hesitantly. Sheppard took a deep drawn breath of air before pulling both of them into action. Fearing the activity near the main square, he turned the opposite way and endeavoured toward the outskirts of town.

For five minutes, Sheppard and Weir made an agonizing progress toward the farms on the outskirts, making several turns down alleys and hiding in buildings to avoid people, overhead wraith and any signs of movement. The moments seemed to the leaders to be an eternity and as they caught sight of the buildings thinning out, their hearts seemed to leap and they looked at each other with hopeful smiles blossoming on their faces.

Just as they came to the last row of buildings obstructing the farms, their hearts fell into their stomachs as they saw their latest obstacle. Four wraith darts had landed and several wraith were standing in the middle of the road, creating an obstructing wall to the farms.

Skipping quickly down an alley to avoid being seen, Sheppard rested his head against the wall for a moment. Weir came and placed a comforting arm on his shoulder before resting against the wall herself.

Sheppard peered around the corner and shook his head "I don't have any ideas, you?" he hissed, not tearing his eyes from the wraith.

"No, I…." Weir began but she was cut off by the sound of rustling in a nearby bush. Sheppard raised his P90 and edged backward to cover Weir. The pair shrank into the shadows as a small figure came edging into the alleyway.

"Lord Sheppard, lady Weir?" the familiar voice made Sheppard falter slightly but he didn't lower his weapon.

The figure moved closer and revealed himself as Laeos. Weir looked at him in confusion and unconsciously moved further behind Sheppard. Laeos raised his hands in surrender "my lord, I have no intention of harming you. Please, I am just glad the wraith have not found you."

Sheppard lowered his gun slightly "why?"

"I cannot answer that, sir, I did not get told why our leaders chose this, I am around just to follow orders."

Weir edged forwards slightly "I don't think this is quite 'following orders'" She continued to edge around Sheppard, but he held out an arm to stop her.

Laeos smiled nervously "I didn't want this to happen to you, so I have come to help you."

"Why?" Sheppard said again.

"Because…you are the only people I have ever met that have conversed with me like my words have meaning. To the people here, I am just a servant" he smiled at them sadly "I have come to help you out."

"Well, no offence but I don't see how. We need to go past the farms and in case you haven't noticed there are a few too many wraith in the way" Sheppard raised his eyebrows "so, if you have any other ideas, let's hear them."

Laeos nodded eagerly "through that building over there" he pointed to a run down building across the street, out of the wraith's eye sights "there is a tunnel. Few of the town know about it. It's just in case the wraith attacked so the Mayor and his family can escape. The tunnel leads out into the field just before where your flying machine lies."

Weir stared at Sheppard in disbelief, her lips spreading in a small, hopeful smile. Sheppard frowned and pointed his P90 at Laeos' chest "can we be assured that you are not lying to us?" he asked, the growl in his voice showing the threat.

"Yes, my lord" Laeos squeaked "if I were lying, the wraith would have found you when I did" he backed off slightly and stretched out his hand tentatively, offering Sheppard a key "that will get you into the tunnel. Make sure you lock it on the other side or they will know where you have gone." With that he took a deep bow and quickly slinked away, giving them a last look before turning into the nearest house.

Looking at the large metal key he now held, Sheppard looked at Weir and shrugged "what do you think?"

Weir sighed and hesitantly whispered "I don't think we have a choice John. There's no way we can get past the wraith."

Sheppard nodded; glad she had made the decision for him "okay, let's move out."

Taking hold of her hand again, Sheppard led Weir back the way they had come, pulling her protectively behind him when a wraith turned in their direction, suspicious at the sounds it could hear. Luckily, the wraith could not see him and eventually turned away, allowing the pair to continue their journey.

Finally they reached the door of the run-down building. The door of the building looked as though it had not been used in a long while and was consequently stuck in the doorway. Sheppard groaned with the strain of opening the heavy, rusted door and eventually pushed all of his weight into the struggle, forcing the door to swing open with a loud protest from the hinges.

Sheppard stood frozen on the spot as he waited for any sign that they had been heard. At first it appeared that they had got away with it, but listening closer, Sheppard could hear the sounds of heavy footsteps running to investigate the noise.

"Elizabeth, we have to move. NOW" Sheppard hissed pulling on her arm and hauled into the small building. Barely waiting to take in the surroundings, Sheppard sprinted over to the large iron gate, Weir close to follow, and handed her the key while he moved to cover her.

The lock was old, well rusted and difficult to turn. Sheppard realised that the wraith must not have come for some time due to its lack of use but he banished the thought as the wraith came closer.

Finally the lock clicked and the gate swung open with its own loud squeak and the pair fell inside just as the wraith came sprinting through the door. Quickly pulling the gate shut, Sheppard jammed the key into the lock and turned with all his strength. Hearing the lock click and the brittle key snapping, he gave it no further thought as he sprinted away, keeping Weir in front of him.

When the dim light of the building faded out of the tunnel, Sheppard slowed to a stop and allowed Weir to fall to the ground in exhaustion. Releasing her hand, he turned the flashlight of his P90 on and let it fall to his side. Finally he looked down at his superior. She looked back up at him and smiled faintly, sweat pouring down her face. She was breathing rather heavily. Privately Sheppard was worried she would be able to continue, but he didn't allow his fear to show.

When she finally got her breathing under control, she lightly remarked "when we get back to Atlantis, I think I might need some more training in this sort of thing!" She glanced up at him and smiled gently, invoking a reluctant smile from Sheppard.

Choosing not to answer her, he rooted through his tac vest and pulled out his canteen "Water?" he asked, handing it to her. She gratefully accepted and took a long drink from it. Sheppard shook his head as she offered it back to him, and instead activated his radio "Lorne, come in."

"Sir?" Lorne's voice came crackling over the radio "you're signals not too good. Where are you? We were tracking you on the H.U.D but you beeped off our screens."

"We're underground. We…. found a secret tunnel leading out of the town. It leads back to the field we landed in, we think. How's things going up there?"

"The wraith are getting more impatient. Some of the wraith darts are even intimidating the villagers with their beams. I think you need to hurry sir. How is Doctor Weir?"

"She's okay, just tired" Sheppard responded shortly, noticing Weir's frown as she listened to the conversation.

"Right, sir" Lorne responded, getting the hint "we're ready to go as soon as you're here."

"Good, Sheppard out."

Sheppard turned to Weir who was slowly getting up off the floor "you okay?"

Weir nodded mutely and shook her feet vigorously "I think we should continue, Colonel. The wraith may have been able to get in after us."

Sheppard nodded, again amazed at her calmness and offered her his hand again. She quickly took it and they started off quickly. After a few moments Weir spoke again "but do you think we could slow the pace just a little?"

Sheppard laughed gently and slowed to a brisk walk. Weir gave a sigh of relief and fell in step beside him. Now more comforted now that the wraith did not appear to be following them, they moved slower and occasionally talked to each other about what they were going to do when they got home.

After 10 minutes of brisk walking, a dim light seemed to appear up ahead of them. Breaking into a jog, Sheppard pulled them up towards it, pulling Weir to an abrupt halt as he stopped right in front of it.

It seemed to be a cave opening coming out of the ground. There were branches and small plants covering it from view and as the pair brushed them aside, the dim moonlight filtered down on them.

Sheppard climbed out of the awkward opening first, turning back to help Weir out as well after he deemed that it was safe. Looking around, they realised they were in the same place as the jumper, barely a sprint away and far from the town. Picking out where he was sure they had parked, he led Elizabeth across the field, breaking into a run. Picking up their approach, the jumper re-materialised and Lorne came running out of the rear hatch waving frantically at them to hurry up.

Now he knew there was something wrong, Sheppard could hear the faint whine of a dart as it speedily travelled in their direction. Looking behind him as he ran, he saw the dart pour in front of the cruiser and point its nose at them, picking up speed as it spotted them.

"Elizabeth, run!" Sheppard yelled, pushing her along with his hands behind her back. Though she stumbled, and wheezed with the effort, he didn't relent.

But it wasn't enough. Barely 60 metres from the jumper, the dart was upon them. Knowing he didn't have a chance, Sheppard frantically reached forward to push Weir out of the line of fire. Just as his hand reached her back, the wraith beam caught him, and both he and Weir were sucked into the dart.

Major Lorne looked after the fast-retreating dart in horror as it sped back towards the cruiser. Pulling himself together, he sped into the jumper and threw himself into the pilot seat.

"Sir? What are we going to do?" Lieutenant Walman was staring at him, clearly waiting for orders to act.

Without hesitating Lorne took off flying straight toward the cruiser, cloaking the ship again as he flew. Now that the wraith had got what they had come for, the darts were returning to the cruiser and it was starting to move away from the planet.

"There's nothing we can do, sir" Walman muttered in defeat "maybe if we went back to Atlantis, we can better decide what to do."

Lorne growled, not turning his attention away from the departing cruiser "by then, the cruiser could be at the ass-end of the galaxy, _lieutenant, _we have to at the very least track the destination its going to."

Walman nodded and took his place next to Lorne, bringing up the heads-up display as he did so. The cruiser appeared as a bright red dot against the blue black of the window, the smaller yellow dots fast disappearing into it.

"Right sir, we've got a tab on the cruiser" Walman confirmed, watching as the last of the darts filtered into the cruiser "we should be able to track it as it enters hyperspace."

The cruiser broke atmosphere quickly and slowed as it powered up its hyper-drive engine. The group held its breath tortuously as the area in front of the ship flashed blue and purple before swallowing the cruiser and their leaders into it.

The HUD beeped as it tracked the offending ship through hyperspace and charted its destination.

With a final beep, the HUD bought up the estimated arrival of the cruiser. "Right, we can't do anything more, let's go back to Atlantis and tell Mckay and Beckett what's happened.

"They were what?!?" Mckay yelled, as soon as the puddle jumper landed in the bay "what… aren't you lot there to protect them?" he waved his caste arm ferociously, wincing as he did so.

"We'd been there for long enough to think that we didn't have to be over-cautious with them. We never thought this would happen."

"Well, how many times have we thought that?" Mckay growled.

"Okay, okay" Lorne relented, holding out his data pad "we managed to track the cruiser to see where abouts it was going. Can you do something with it?"

"'Can I do something about it?' you do know who you're talking to, don't you?" Mckay snorted.

"I'll take that as a yes. Hurry up; we don't know how long we have." Lorne headed off to pull together Ronon and the SO's.

Muttering to himself, Mckay scooted off in the opposite direction.

Half an hour later, Ronon, Beckett and Lorne were congregated in the conference room, listening to Mckay and Zelenka with growing concern. Beside Zelenka, a flashing screen showed the results of Mckay's painstakingly rushed work.

"Rodney, this isn't exactly the news we wanted to hear, lad" Beckett moaned, shaking his head diligently.

"I'm sorry Carson, but it's the best I can do with the information I was given" Mckay glared at Lorne before turning to the screen "from the data we were given, we have ascertained that the cruiser was travelling in this direction" the screen flashed and a bright red line spread across the map on the screen from Davaros to the edge of the galaxy in that direction.

"Now we don't know what planet the cruiser was heading to but we've managed to discern the possible planets it could have gone to or could be going to" Mckay shrugged as he looked at the numerous flashing planets that had now lit up, strewn along the red line "now if we start the search with just the planets with stargates, we can reduce the search by 60."

"But that's assuming that the planet they've been taken to has a stargate" Beckett pointed out.

Mckay suddenly looked anxious "yes, yes but it will take longer if we investigate planets without first. And besides, a wraith stronghold usually has a stargate so the darts can conduct raids."

The others nodded, hoping against hope that they were making the right decision. They sat in a sombre silence for a few moments until Ronon snapped them out of it with a rough "So. What's the plan?"


	5. Chapter 4: A rude awakening

_Thank you to everyone who read my story! Special thanks to spacelux for your review. It made me want to put this up straight away! Hope you enjoy this chapter too! Shep-whump in this chapter so look away if you're squeamish!!_

**Chapter 4 – A Rude Awakening.**

The ghostly, eerie corridors of the wraith cruiser glowed in a cold, pale light as it reflected across the white hair of the wraith moving quickly through the halls. The light shone on a group of Wraith heading through the ship, headed by a tall, imposing male wraith. They made a quick, brusque procession toward the flight bay and stood waiting as their darts flew overhead, settling back into their platforms as they landed.

Finally, the last of the ships filtered in, and as they started to land, the wraith could feel the cruiser start to move and felt the jolt as it entered hyperspace. One wraith dart turned in the air and sped toward the congregation, its beam flashing as it swept toward them.

Speeding over them, the beam landing at their feet. As the beam faded, two bodies lay in its place, Atlantis symbols clear in the ghostly light.

The wraith leader curled his lip in satisfaction and hissed to the wraith soldiers who quickly lifted the two bodies and started to carry them out of the flight bay. The unconscious prisoners made no quarrel with them, and they proceeded to pull them through the corridors.

The Wraith, so confident in themselves, did not even check on their captives and did not notice Colonel Sheppard's eyes snap open and look around sharply before quickly shutting again.

-----

"We should contact the Athosians and bring Teyla back" Mckay said, quickly walking back towards the control room, Zelenka tagging behind.

"Rodney-" Zelenka started.

"And maybe the Athosians can give us some Intel about any of the planets and maybe diminish the amount of planets we have to search."

"Rodney!" Zelenka shouted, forcing Mckay to turn around in shock and passers-by to stare at them.

Mckay glared at him, annoyed by his outburst "what does that help Radek? I'm trying to get things moving around here and you screaming at me does not move anything along."

Zelenka nodded understandingly and motioned them to keep moving. They set off through the corridors and were silent for a moment until Zelenka spoke up "we should wait and get organised Rodney, starting off on some reckless rescue attempt is only going to get more people hurt or start a panic throughout the city."

Mckay paused and begrudgingly nodded, blushing slightly as he realised what he'd been doing "what do you suggest we do then Zelenka?"

Zelenka turned away and bit his lips nervously "um, well…first we should contact Teyla like you said. She could be useful in the search. We should send a jumper out to that area of space and see if it can pick up the ship. Then, we should debrief two rescue teams and start sending them out to the planets."

Mckay nodded and looked up at the jumper bay as they entered the gate room "major Lorne is already prepping a jumper to survey the quadrant for signs of wraith activity."

Zelenka bounded up the steps athletically and charged into the gate room, acknowledging the technicians and giving the scared and worried staff a reassuring smile. Mckay came up behind him and breathed heavily after his jog up the stairs.

"Right… Major Lorne how are you doing?" Mckay wheezed, gaining an incredulous look from Zelenka.

"We're just about ready to set out Doctor Mckay" Lorne's voice swam over the radio, sounding strained and anxious.

"Are you okay, major Lorne?" Mckay frowned, expecting strength from the ranking military officer.

"Yes sir" Lorne curtly replied "do we have the go-ahead for the mission?"

"Yes major. And be careful, we don't want to lose anyone else today."

There was silence on the other end of the radio and Mckay was about to speak again when Lorne responded "Yes sir."

The gate was quickly activated and the jumper descended from the bay dangerously fast. There was a hum of protest from the jumper's engine before Lorne slammed on the acceleration and sped through the gate.

Mckay stared after them with a sigh and whispered "be safe."

-----

The dark cold of the wraith cell felt immediately familiar to Sheppard as he was dumped unceremoniously on the ground. A thud next to him told him that Weir was receiving the same treatment and he bristled angrily, barely containing his anger.

Keeping his eyes firmly shut, he keened his ears and listened as the group of wraith hissed to each other and stomped out of the cell, the web door slithering closed behind them. Peeling his eyes open slightly, he noted that only one wraith was sticking around. Smiling grimly to himself, he noted his options. "Limited" he thought to himself.

As Sheppard carefully took in the sounds of his surroundings, he heard Weir's breathing hitch slightly but it was quickly covered up. Sheppard grinned to himself. Weir was awake too and clearly working on keeping it hidden. Sheppard made a note to congratulate her on her skills when they got back home.

The minutes passed slowly and crept into hours as Sheppard and Weir lay in silence, wary of making the smallest noise in front of the wraith, unable to let each other know they were okay. Finally Sheppard shifted slightly, moving his hand so that it contacted with Weir's.

The wraith grunted gently and turned towards them. Sheppard froze and made a few soft noises, pretending to be in the middle of a dream. The wraith watched him for a few moments but turned away, satisfied that they were still asleep.

Weir squeezed his hand, showing her amusement, and he squeezed back harder, telling her to quit her mocking. Sheppard suddenly received a mental image of Weir laughing at him and he had to focus a lot of energy to get rid of it

Finally, the sound of footsteps reached the pairs ears and they stiffened as two extra wraith came towards their cell. Although they couldn't understand what the wraith were hissing, Sheppard had a clear idea that it was moving time. He took a greater grip on Weir's hand and tried to think of a weapon he could use against them. As if she was sensing what he was thinking, Weir gently guided his hand down to his stomach. With a start of incredulity, Sheppard realised that the wraith hadn't bothered to remove his P90 or his 9mm. Clearly they thought that they wouldn't wake up for a long time and were being careless.

The wraiths conversation ended abruptly and the web over the cell flashed open. Sheppard peeled one eye open and stared at the approaching soldiers. Two of the three were unarmed and were edging towards them, intending to pick them up. The other was holding his stunner toward the ground and was standing around looking bored and careless. Sheppard grinned to himself at their lack of caution.

He kept still until the last possible moment, keeping his half-open eye fixed on the approaching wraith.

Just as the first wraith bent down to retrieve Weir, Sheppard let loose a volley of bullets, striking the two closest wraith. Both went down, blood pouring out of violent, well placed bullet holes in their heads and necks.

Satisfied that they weren't going to get up and the stunner was far away, Sheppard moved to cover Weir quickly who was standing at the far wall.

Too late, he remembered the last wraith, who gave him a fierce backhand punch and sent him flying into a wall with a sickening thud and a loud crack. His P90 flew in the opposite direction, landing near the wraith's feet. Groaning heavily, Sheppard got to his feet, springing into action as he saw Weir cornered by the wraith who had just retrieved Sheppard's gun.

Without a moments hesitation, he pulled out his 9mm and flew towards the wraith. Reaching the pair, he roughly shoved Weir away and le out as many shots as he had, emptying the barrel completely. At the same time, the wraith pressed on the trigger of the P90.

-----

The alarm claxons of the gate room sounded as the Atlantis gate activated. Mckay had barely given the o.k. to lower the shield, when the jumper came speeding through, almost crashing against the gate room steps. As the gate shut down, the rear hatch opened and Lorne bounded out, a data pad clutched in his hands.

The jumper rose into the launch bay, it's rear hatch still half-open and Lorne jumped up the stairs and gestured for Mckay and Zelenka to enter the conference room.

As they took their seats around the table, they were joined by several SF's and A-R 2 who had run from the jumper bay. Finally, Beckett came sprinting into the room and collapsed into a chair, breathing heavily but eyes sparkling fiercely with determination.

Lorne stood up, drawing everyone's attentions towards him. Just as he was about to start, he paused, looking around at the expectant faces "where are Teyla and Ronon" he asked, looking out of the doors as if they were about to appear.

Mckay quickly spoke up "Ronon's gone to pick up Teyla from the mainland."

"Still?" Lorne asked incredulously, shaking his head "I've been gone for four hours. You're telling me they're not back yet? Never mind, never mind, we'll tell them when we see them. Moving on…"

Lorne started gushing his words as he sped into an explanation. The rest of the assembled group exchanged looks at Lorne's enthusiasm.

Finally, Lorne's tirade came to an end and he looked around smugly. His face fell at the blank looks staring back at him. He was even more disappointed when he saw Mckay's confused face.

Sighing heavily, he transferred the information on his data pad to a laptop and showed it to the group "This is the scan we took of the area where we think the wraith exited hyperspace" he received a few understanding nods at this.

"Now, my team followed through the gate to the area and surveyed as much as we thought safe" pointing at a flashing area in the corner of the screen, he continued "from our scans, we have worked out that the most wraith activity is located in this part of the quadrant. Unfortunately, we didn't want to get in too close so we aren't sure where abouts in that area they could be. But from our scout we picked out several possible locations on the map where they could be located."

Mckay nodded, pulling out his list of possible addresses and circling ones in the area "in total, there are fourteen worlds within the area, eight of which have stargates. If we start searching those planets, we can search faster and if that doesn't work, we can search the planets without stargates."

The group nodded eagerly and started to excitedly talk to each other. It seemed as though the prospects of finding their leaders was looking up.

Lorne clapped his hands loudly, a small smile playing across his face "Right, o.k. we'll set up three teams and search the stargate planets first. As soon as Ronon and Teyla get back and are debriefed, we'll set out, o.k."

The group gave a cheerful affirmative and stood up as one, heading for the door and chatting excitedly.

-----

The wraith groaned in pain as it slid down the cell wall, blood pouring from its body.

Picking herself up from the floor, Weir glanced at the three wraith nervously, wondering if they rally were all dead.

After a moment, she convinced herself that there was no chance that they were still alive and turned to Sheppard "thank god for that. We should get moving, shouldn't we, in case…"

Weir faltered as she caught sight of Sheppard and a horrified gasp escaped her lips. Sheppard was crumpled in a heap, his 9mm still smoking on the ground beside him. There was blood everywhere. Weir couldn't tell where his wounds were as the blood was quickly covering a large area.

Sheppard looked up, his face contorted with pain that he was unable to disguise. Weir gave an involuntary shudder at the deep gash in his temple which had already bled into his eye, creating an evil, red look which scared her.

Seeing Weir's distress, Sheppard pulled himself to his feet with a grunt of pain and indicated his P90 "does that still work? I think I hit it."

Weir shook her head in disbelief "John, maybe you shouldn't get up. You're really hurt and we don't know what we're going to have to face out there. I…"

She was cut off by Sheppard's level look "Elizabeth, do you have a better idea? We can't stay here. Any minute now, more wraith will be coming and I really don't fancy another fight."

"But you…"

"I'll survive" Sheppard finished for her, reloading his 9mm "that's all I've got left. What about my P90?"

Weir bent down to retrieve it and shook her head "no, it's broken. One of your bullets must have hit it."

Sheppard nodded, wincing in pain at the movement "I thought I had. Oh well" he patted his 9mm and smiled "this will have to do."

With as much disguise as he could master, Sheppard hugged his left arm to his body and staggered out of the room, stopping as he reached one of the downed wraith and taking a grenade from it's body, clearing rethinking his idea that his 9mm 'would do'. Weir followed closely behind, watching Sheppard's unbalanced movements.

The pair kept silent as they made their slow procession through the ship. Sheppard was relieved to see that the ship they were on had an identical structure to the previous ones he had visited.

As they were nearing one of the few exits of the ship, the cruiser jolted heavily, sending Sheppard sprawling to the ground with a muffled moan of pain.

Weir carefully pulled him to his feet, careful to avoid the patches of blood coating his body. Sheppard made a point of brushing himself down and peered around the corridors "looks like we just landed" he muttered to Weir "that's good. It makes our escape a lot easier."

Weir nodded and followed quickly as he pulled himself down the corridor, their optimism quickly turning to dread as they stopped one corridor from the exit and surveyed the difficult task ahead.

Five wraith stood around the exit to the ship, proud and alert as if waiting for something to happen. Far out of sight, Sheppard and Weir glanced nervously at each other, both aware that this wasn't an obstacle that was easy to overcome.


	6. Chapter 5: Military Tactics

_Yay! It's update time. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I'm hoping for about 20 reviews by the end of the story so please make my day! Without further ado, here's the next chapter!_

**Chapter 5 – Military Tactics.**

Sheppard panted heavily as he stood flat against the wall. Weir looked at him in fear, her eyes straying to the blood freely flowing from his body. Sheppard noticed she was looking and sent her a reassuring smile, slightly hampered by the pained frown in his forehead.

Weir moved closer to him and whispered "how are you doing?"

Sheppard smiled at her again "I've had worse Elizabeth, though I don't think I've been quite in this bad a situation" he confessed, biting on his pale, bloodless lips. Weir noticed that his breathing was getting louder and more strained.

The pair returned their attention back toward the guarding wraith. They were standing still and showed no intention of moving any time soon.

"How are we going to get past them?" Weir asked, peering around wishing the solution would just come to them.

"We can't. And there are too many of them for us to fight with this" he picked up his 9mm and raised his eyebrows sarcastically.

Suddenly, an alarm started to resonate throughout the ship and Weir started as several Wraith sprinted past them, and felt Sheppard pulling her out of the light and away from the stampeding wraith.

After the coast became clear, Weir pulled out of the shadows and looked around the corner again. The wraith were still there but now that the alarm was sounding throughout the ship they looked severely rankled and were shifting about nervously. To Weir it looked as if they never wanted to be on guard duty in the first place.

Turning back to Sheppard, she was about to speak when she noticed his eyes were closed and his eyebrows knotted in thought "what is it?" she asked, afraid of the answer.

Sheppard's eyes snapped open quickly and he smiled sloppily at her and waited for the light to stop flashing at him. When it didn't, he buried the sick feeling and pulled out the grenade he had stolen from the wraith.

Weir smiled at his idea before pointing out the obvious flaw "John, when you used that against one, it barely even slowed him down. How's that going to take out five of them?"

Sheppard grinned and shook his head, stopping as it pained his shoulder "well, we won't be using it against them. We'll be using it as a diversion. The wraith look on edge. If we create a big loud bang with a lot of red fire, it might scare them enough to leave their posts."

Weir smiled at his confident attitude, feeling slightly doubtful about it herself. Sheppard noticed it and hastened to lighten the atmosphere "Choice of the next movie we watch says I can do it" he raised his eyebrows challengingly and Weir laughed silently.

"You're on" she giggled, shaking hands with Sheppard and instantly regretted it as her hand came away covered in blood. Sheppard grimaced in apology and Weir nodded, wiping her hand on her jacket, trying to be dismissive.

Taking one last look at the wraith, Sheppard opened the grenade. "Here we go" he stated, turning the top and slamming it into place. The red light began to flash quickly and Sheppard quickly lowered it to the ground and pushed it away, trying to create as little sound as possible. As the grenade rolled out of sight, Sheppard straightened painfully up and pulled Weir into a corner, again covering herself with his body.

After a moment, the corridor adjacent to the couple exploded sending showers of sparks and flames up in the air, along with strips of metal and charred fragments of the ship. The heat was intense and as the explosion settled down, several fires were left burning in the hallway. In the commotion, Sheppard saw the five wraiths speeding off in different directions as the fire reached them. One wraith was hit by a piece of flying metal and went down with a deep gash on its head, where it lay unmoving. None of the other wraith paid it any heed as they sped past, too preoccupied with their own troubles.

Finally there seemed to be no-one around and Sheppard and Weir made the instantaneous decision to move and move quickly. Grabbing hold of Sheppard's hands and taking no notice of the sticky substance coating them, Weir gently supported him as they collapsed out of their hiding-place and fled out of the dimly lit tunnels, out into the light of the planet.

-----

By the time Teyla and Ronon returned from the mainland, Lorne had begun to pace anxiously. Having already sent one search team out, he had been forced to wait until their arrival to continue.

Ass they entered the gate room, Lorne rounded on them "5 HOURS! 5 hours you've been gone. Where, I ask, have you been? No" Lorne checked himself "sorry. You two can have Walman and Lieutenant Geller as backup. Are you ready to leave now?"

When all four gave their affirmative, Lorne signalled for the gate to be dialled "good luck all of you. Let's hope you find them."

Teyla and Ronon nodded slightly before stepping through the gate.

As soon as they were through, Ronon turned to Teyla "Lorne's not normally that aggravated is he? I've never seen him so anxious."

Teyla smiled gently "Colonel Sheppard gave Lorne the unofficial job of protecting Weir. Not many people know that and even less know why" she smiled mischievously "Lorne was there when Weir was taking wasn't he? So he probably thinks that it's his fault and wants to make it right as soon as possible."

Ronon stared at her incredulously "how do you always know what's going on even if you aren't there?"

Teyla turned away and started to walk away before saying simply "intuition."

Ronon smirked at her fast retreating back and started to follow, making sure to remember to ask her about it later.

-----

Lorne sighed and looked at his watch. 10 minutes had passed since he'd sent Ronon and Teyla on their search. Now it was time for him to go.

Signalling for the gate to be dialled again, he turned and looked at his three team members. All of them looked nervous but determined to find their leaders.

Lorne nodded to himself. He was glad he had a dedicated team to help in the search.

The last chevron locked in place and Lorne called for his team to move out. Just then a shout came from the other side of the gateroom and Mckay came jogging out, decked in full gear, his cast arm hanging limply, covered by the un-used arm of his jacket.

As he stopped in front of Lorne, he managed to puff out "I- I'm coming too."

"What?" Lorne gasped incredulously "but you're hardly fit to be going off-world at all and to be honest, you're not exactly cut out for search and rescue" Lorne bowed his head apologetically and turned to leave.

Mckay stopped him with a hand on Lorne's arm "Look, I know I'm a civilian but if I can be honest with you, Sheppard means a lot to everyone, especially me. So does Weir. I want to be doing something to help him, to find him, but I can't do that here so please, please let me come along with you. I'll be as military as possible. I'll even follow orders."

Lorne stood still for a moment, debating the issue inside his head "okay" he said finally "but at the first problem, you come back home."

"Yes sir" Mckay chirped happily, walking up to the gate with him. After briefly waving at Zelenka, he turned back to Lorne "but, you know, all that stuff I said about Sheppard, you will keep it to yourself won't you?"

Lorne chose not to give a reply, instead walking through the gate, leaving a very confused and worried Mckay to follow after him.

-----

The sun was starting to set as Sheppard and Weir crashed through the first trees of a forest they had come to. After an hour of running and stumbling across an exposed plain with very little in the way of cover, they were glad for t added protection the trees brought.

The forest was also a lot cooler than it was outside and the pair lapped up the cool air as they slowed to a walk and tried to get their breathing under control.

"We're not being followed any more" Sheppard observed, glaring back the way they had come "don't let your guard down though Elizabeth."

Weir looked across at Sheppard and frowned. She hated how sometimes he could become a closed book so that she couldn't tell what was going on with him. Right now, she realised that she was going to have to ask if she wanted to find out how he was holding up.

"John?" she asked hesitantly, not wanting to make him jump as the forest was very silent and their was no wild life in sight.

"mmm?" he mumbled back, trying his best to sound casual.

"Are you okay? I mean maybe we should stop, make some assessments and then decide what we're going to do from there."

Sheppard shook his head and added a hiss of pain "no, we need to get deeper into the forest, we're too close to the edge right now. We have to keep going until nightfall and then try to find a clearing to set up camp."

"Fine" Weir relented, folding her arms across her chest sulkily "but you have to tell me if you can't carry on, okay?"

"Of course" Sheppard said, flashing his best smile, secretly thinking the opposite.

-----

Teyla's group walked steadily away from the gate on the hot, desert planet they were searching. Every few minutes the group would stop to inspect a set of footprints or a disturbance in the trees or bushes that dotted the landscape. So far they had found noting.

"This isn't working" Ronon growled at Teyla as they walked side by side "we aren't going to find them this way. We'd have better luck with sending a fleet of puddle jumpers to fight the wraith and get them back that way."

Teyla sighed "yes, but that way we could lose many more lives. Colonel Sheppard and Doctor Weir would not want that to happen, so this is the best alternative."

Ronon growled "it's not a very good alternative."

Teyla rounded on him, fully aware that the two Sf's were listening "yes Ronon, but it's the only one we have. You're not helping at all by making criticisms, so please shut up and carry on looking."

Teyla stormed off towards a large patch of trees, the two Sf's following close behind. Ronon sighed and followed, promising to make it up to Teyla when he got the chance.

As he jogged towards the group, something shiny caught his eye from behind the trees that the group was about to enter. He shouted a warning and sprinted till he had caught up but it was too late.

With a loud cry, a group of humans flew out of the trees, spears pointed at the Atlantean group.

-----

Lorne and Mckay were having little luck searching their planet. Unlike the world Teyla was on, this world had quickly gotten cold as they carried on searching. Soon the entire group was shivering as they attempted to warm themselves up and Mckay very quickly started complaining. But the group didn't give up for fears that if their leaders were on this godforsaken rock, they would be freezing to death by the time the sun went down.

The world wasn't uninhabited though. The group had found plenty of arctic-type wild-life moving around the cold planet, from tiny rodents to large cat-like predators that they had decided to keep away from.

Finally, as the temperature dropped further, rain clouds let loose and it began to snow. This was the last straw for Lorne. They had been searching for hours and had come up with no indication that the wraith had even visited the planet.

"Hey, Mckay" he called, his mouth filling up with snow as it fell.

"What?" Mckay yelled back, still looking for signs of the wraith.

"I think we should call it quits" Lorne said sympathetically, coming up to stand beside Mckay.

"What?! But we've only just arrived. They could be here, just a little further and if we go back now we could miss them."

"Mckay" Lorne said sharply "there are no people, no signs of civilisations and more importantly, no wraith. We would see that if they were on this planet."

Mckay looked at Lorne, pleading with him "please, we can't stop now. Let's just carry on for a little longer. If we can't find them then, then we'll turn back, okay?"

Lorne sighed as he conceded to Mckay "alright, but just till sundown. Then we go home. I don't think much could survive out here after then."

Nodding, Mckay wandered off, calling out to Sheppard and Weir.

-----

Unbeknownst to Mckay, Sheppard and Weir were slowly realising where they were. Or Sheppard was at least. As the sun disappeared behind the tree line and the temperature started to drop, the pair also began to slow again. Sheppard was exhausted and Weir could tell that camp was going to be hard to make as Sheppard was unlikely to be of much help.

As the dark sky became lighter as the moon began to rise, the pair started looking for a place to spend the night. Sheppard was beginning to stumble so Weir placed an arm around him, encouraging him to put some weight on her, which he unhappily relented to.

As they walked together, they started talking quietly to each other about un-important things, with Sheppard gloating that he got next choice of movie night. Weir pretended to be horrified, secretly thinking that she would watch a hundred of Sheppard's favourite movies if they could just get home.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a loud, screeching bird-call hit the night air. Sheppard stopped and leaned against a tree, frowning deeply.

Weir stopped with him "what is it?" she asked, carefully removing her arm from where it was wedged between Sheppard and the tree.

"I've heard that bird before" he muttered, looking up into the canopy of the trees "I think I've been to this planet before. Argh" he ground his knuckles into the side of his head, wincing as he touched his temple wound "where are we?"

Weir smiled slowly "don't worry about that just now. Come on, lets find a place to spend the night and we'll think about that sort of stuff after."

Sheppard nodded and accepted her arm again, leaning more heavily on it this time and they started off again.

Eventually, Sheppard pointed out a good location and they stumbled into a small clearing. Although the clearing was dotted with small rocks and boulders, it was quite comfortable and they were able to lean against some of the larger boulders as they stopped for a break.

The clearing slowly brightened as the moon came up. As Weir wandered around, gathering wood for a fire, Sheppard looked at the sky, confused by the brightness of the moon. The reason for the light became evident as he stared at three separate moons.

With a gasp, both from the realisation and the pain from looking up in the sky, Sheppard realised where they were and all the colour drained from his face.

"Elizabeth" he called "Elizabeth!"

Weir ran back to him and fell to his side "yes" she gasped "what is it?"

"I know where we are" he responded shakily.

Weir glared at him "that's it, John? You don't need to give me a heart attack over something like that."

"No, Elizabeth, listen. I've been here before. On a mission that lasted all of ten minutes." Weir frowned at him in confusion and he elaborated "does the name M6A 722 mean anything to you?"

Weir thought for a moment and then gasped as she remembered "oh no" she moaned.

"Uh huh" Sheppard said sadly "Ford named it wraith world for a reason."

"But John, you called it an impossible planet. There's not a chance of getting off it."

"Yeah, well I did exaggerate a bit. It's just really, really hard to escape from."

"So, what are we going to do?" Weir bit her lip as she stared at Sheppard.

"Well, at least we know the general direction of the stargate. We'll use that as our primary objective, okay?" Weir nodded, not looking convinced "firsts things first though, what do you remember about this planet?"

Weir was uncertain "other than it being impossible?"


	7. Chapter 6: Assessments

_Sorry for the no update… I'm not allowed to post over the weekend…stupid rules… anyways, I intend to put up a chapter a day this week, but only if I get reviews… please??? I send love to those that do!_

**Chapter 6 – Assessments.**

"Right, that's it" Lorne snapped, flexing his fingers to remove the numb feeling. He rounded on Mckay, who had his arms folded defiantly "We're getting nowhere and to be honest, I'm freezing my butt off here."

Mckay chose to say nothing and merely glared. Lorne took the opportunity to continue "we're all soaked through and I think it's pretty evident that they aren't here, Rodney."

Mckay's glare lost its effect and he looked at the ground "we can't give up on them, we have to keep looking" he started looking round the snow covered world as if they were about to find Sheppard and Weir just standing there "we can't leave until we find them!" he yelled.

"Mckay, think about it, they can't be here. The wraith wouldn't be interested in a place like this for starters and nothing but a few plants and animals can survive out here. It's safe to assume that they aren't and never were here, okay?"

His face softened as eh approached Mckay "look, I know how badly you want to find them. Believe me, we all want them safe home again. But we can't stay here any more."

Mckay looked as if he was about to answer back, but he stopped and looked at the rest of the team. They were all shivering, and one looked as though his lips were turning a nasty shade of blue. He gave a deep sigh and nodded, defeated.

Just as they turned to go back, Lorne patted him on the back and said "we won't give up, okay?"

-----

Weir had finally managed to get a fire going after several attempts at using Sheppard's lighter. Intrigued by the fact he had a lighter, she asked "you smoke?"

Sheppard chuckled, coughing lightly "no, but a long time ago, I worked out that it's always convenient to carry a lighter around with you" he shrugged nonchalantly and smiled at her.

"How did you find that out?" Weir asked, eager to find out another piece of information on John Sheppard that wasn't in his military records. Or medical records for that matter.

"Basically there was me, a dark cave and a lost gun, faced by many animals that would have liked to eat me" Sheppard said casually, betrayed by the blush that crept over his face.

"There" Weir completed the fire with a flourish and moved away from it as its warmth filled the clearing "how did you get out of that situation?"

"Luck, pure and simple" Sheppard said, grinning mysteriously, deciding the matter was closed.

"Alright then, I'll accept that for now" Weir conceded "besides we have more important things to worry about. But" she pointed a finger at him "you have to finish that story one day."

Sheppard just smiled.

"Okay, take your jacket off and let me get a good look at you" Weir commanded, grateful for the BDU vest she was wearing, as she dug through its pockets for her medical kit. Finding it, she glared at Sheppard, who had yet to do as he was told, then dropped her gaze as she realised he was having difficulty getting out of his clothes.

Reaching out guiltily, she helped him pull it off of his arms, wincing involuntarily when he let out a small cry of pain. "Sorry" she muttered, trying to keep herself going.

"S'okay" Sheppard grunted back through clenched teeth.

Finally, the offending piece of clothing had been removed and Weir winced apologetically as she said "now your t-shirt."

Sheppard sighed, but nodded, helping Weir to gently lift the blood-soaked cloth over his head. Once removed, Weir threw it to the ground with disgust and looked back at Sheppard. She didn't like what she saw.

The impossible amount of blood had come from, and was still slowly coming from, a deep bullet wound in Sheppard's left shoulder. Weir realised that this was the reason why Sheppard had been babying his left arm. Though most of the blood had been soaked up by his t-shirt, a good deal of it had coated his body and Weir was forced to wash it off as best she could with water from their canteen. This was made harder when Sheppard hissed with pain as she washed over his ribs. Frowning, Weir cleared away the blood and stared as ugly purple contusions began to show up in its place "John, you've broken some ribs haven't you?" Weir asked, locking eyes with Sheppard.

"Maybe" Sheppard responded dismissively, avoiding her eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me? It's dangerous for you even to be walking. You could give yourself internal injuries." Weir glared at him under guarded eyes, causing Sheppard to sigh loudly.

"I didn't tell you because I knew this was how you would react. Really, I didn't want you to have to be worried about something else on top of all this. As for the whole internal injuries thing, I'm better off out here walking than in there staying still." He pointed back the way they had come and shrugged "forget about it Elizabeth."

"Okay…" Weir responded, unconvincingly "let's move on shall we?" She gently applied padding and dressings to each of the cuts and contusions around Sheppard's chest and then looked again at his shoulder. Frowning slightly, she sighed as she realised the bullet would have to be removed. Sheppard looked down at himself and then looked at her apologetically, before handing her a knife.

Weir blanched, feeling as though she was going to be sick "Ca…can't we give you some painkillers first, then maybe wait till they start working."

Sheppard shook his head sadly "not with Mr. bumponthehead, we can't" he noticed that Weir's hands were shaking as she looked down at the knife "look, I'll be silent okay, you won't think anything of it. If anything it's just a favour for your ranking military officer and he will buy you a drink next time we're back on Earth."

Weir laughed gently before nodding, her eyes set with determination. Taking a deep breath, she plunged the knife into the wound, eliciting a small, immediately stifled gasp from Sheppard. As she worked around the bullet, carefully working it out, Sheppard kept to his word and remained completely silent, though the vein in his temple started to throb angrily with the effort. Finally, Weir pulled the bullet out with her fingers and threw it on the ground. Her hands were coated with blood and the wound renewed its bleeding in full force. Moving quickly, she wrapped the colonel up in a dressing and bandaged it as best she could.

Finally, she was finished and she stood back to admire her work, noticing that Sheppard was looking a little paler than five minutes before "you okay?" she asked softly, allowing her hand to stroke Sheppard's blood matted hair.

"Yeah…" he gasped lightly, turning to look at the ground "world's spinning a little is all."

"Oh right, your head" Weir remembered, reaching for her canteen again.

Sheppard shook his head "leave it, there's not really much you can do for it anyway and we don't want to waste the water.

"I'd rather clean you up and have you better, to be honest" Weir responded, frowning deeply.

"Well then" Sheppard said sheepishly "if you don't mind, would you take a look at my leg instead please?"

Weir stared at him. Come to think of it, she had seen him stumbling and staggering while they were running. Maybe he had done something to his leg. "Okay" she said softly.

"Thanks" Sheppard muttered, pulling up the leg of his trousers. He hissed with pain as it passed over his calf but he ignored it and pulled his trouser leg up past his knee.

"Oh my god" Weir gasped, staring at the mess before her. Sheppard's leg had been ripped to shreds by a bullet that had passed clean through his leg. Muscle, skin and veins had all been damaged and Weir wouldn't have been surprised if the bone was broken as well. Luckily, no arteries had been hit but even so…

"Why aren't you dead?" Weir asked severely, forgetting tact for a moment.

Unfazed, Sheppard just chuckled "I dunno, I guess I've been in a lot of similar situations. I must have gotten used to it."

Looking back t his leg, she stammered "what do I do with this then?"

Sheppard looked down at the damage and shrugged "not much that can be done here. I suppose…. just wrapping it up and stopping the bleeding would be nice."

Weir smiled faintly and set back to work, feeling that her first aid course should have been more extensive than it was. When she finally finished, she noted that Sheppard was exhausted and that he was struggling to keep his eyes open. He fought it off, though, and with a short, raspy breath, changed the subject.

"Right, food is simple. Here" he tossed her a power bar "that should do for a while. Next, water. We shall find a stream tomorrow as we walk. Finally home. The gate is here and we are here" he started drawing a map on the ground and Weir watched intently before actually turning her eyes on the drawing. It was roughly done with only a few trees to indicate the forest. Using the same system, she assumed there was more than a few mountains surrounding the stargate. In between was a small area with nothing in it, an exposed space. "Okay, I think we can do this. Once we've left the forest we could be easily picked up by the wraith but that's the only problem."

'_Apart from you and those mountains' _Weir thought.

"…but we'll have to deal with that when we get there. Okay, that's sorted. You should get some sleep, I'll keep watch" Sheppard shifted his back into a more upright position "I would offer you my jacket but, one it's covered in blood and two… I'm kinda cold."

Weir snorted but shook her head "no John, you get some rest, you're injured. Besides, I hear you make a lousy guard."

"Who said that?" Sheppard asked indignantly "I'm great, I'll have you know. It was Mckay, wasn't it. Right, he's on training with Ronon for a month."

Weir laughed "harsh, but no. Mckay only said that you take all the guard duty and don't wake anyone else up. I think he was actually saying something nice about you even if he did say it was annoying."

Sheppard looked at the ground and chose to stay silent, Weir moved over to him and patted his arm "get some sleep you and don't think I don't know when you're awake."

Sheppard nodded mutely and grinned at her, making sure to give a sloppy salute which he received a glare for.

-----

Back on the desert world, Teyla stared at the young men who were pointing spears at them "we mean you no harm" she assured them slowly, holding up her hands "we are merely looking for our friends who might have come here."

The tallest man came forward, raising his spear angrily "only wraith come here" he grunted "you friend of wraith. Anearians hate wraith, so Anearians hate you. You be killed by Anearians."

"No, no we are not friends with the wraith. In fact, many of us have lost homes due to the wraith. We hate them just as you do."

The lead man lowered his weapon but carried on glaring at Teyla ferociously "come" he said finally "I take you to Aela. She know what to do with you."

"That sounds… good. Show us the way" Teyla responded, flashing a brilliant smile at him. The leader responded with a growl that showed he did not appreciate the affection.

"Weapons" he grunted shortly turning his back on them and waving his hand to the other spear-wielders. He stormed off angrily and the other men closed in on them.

Teyla and the SF's slowly handed over their weapons, trying not to cause a conflict, if somewhat reluctantly, but Ronon growled and aimed his gun at the nearest man.

"Ronon" Teyla warned, pulling his gun out of his grasp and handing it over. Ronon reluctantly followed with his sword and knives, and then folded his arms sulkily.

Teyla patted his arm, before walking off in the direction of the village.

-----

The night had grown quite cold by the time Sheppard had finally settled down and fallen asleep and Weir found herself shivering even as she kept watch around her.

Though she was supposed to be keeping a strong watch on what was happening around her, her gaze kept inevitably floating back to her SIC. Even in sleep, his features seemed to be sharp and alert. Any sound she or anything else made caused him to at least partially stir. Weir had thanked the heavens that he hadn't woken up yet and made a point of making as little noise as possible. Around midnight, she had noticed that Sheppard was also shivering, so, after a long internal battle, she had moved quietly over and settled next to him.

Now, as she looked at him again, she found him in the midst of a troubled sleep. His eyelids fluttered rapidly and he made small sounds of pain in his throat. A deep frown was set in his face. Not knowing what to do and not wishing to wake him up, she had huddled closer and started brushing her hand through his hair.

Finally, after a few minutes, he settled and Weir sighed with relief but carried on stroking his untidy hair.

After ten minutes, she had resumed her watch and continual glances at Sheppard and, at every moan or grimace of pain that Sheppard emitted, she found herself thinking and finally saying "you hold on, John. We're gonna get home."

-----

The village Teyla had entered could barely be called one. In fact, it was just a few rundown huts in the middle of a sparse clump of forested trees that had few leaves.

As the men walked in, they started calling to others in heir native language. Before long, a large group of natives had surrounded the group, and a big discussion broke out. Though she couldn't understand what was being said, she did catch the words 'wraith' and 'Aela', the woman they were going to see. Teyla knew they were being talked about.

Eventually, the discussion ended, and the villagers returned their attentions to their visitors. As one, the group moved to two sides and backed away, eyeing them suspiciously. Teyla took this to mean that they were able to continue on through the village.

The lead man who had threatened them beckoned to her from a hut at the centre of the village. In the commotion from the villagers, she had not noticed that he had left. Nodding to the rest of her team, she walked over to him, and followed him into the hut.

It was gloomy and cool inside the small hut even though it was bright and baking outside. Looking at the brown rugs and tapestries hanging around the place, Teyla was struck with an overwhelming feeling of her own camp on Athos. Automatically, she felt more friendly and connected to these people.

She and her team were beckoned to the furthest edge of the hut, Ronon bringing up the rear, his arms still folded. In the gloomiest place in the hut, a chair was placed half-in, half-out of the torch light. Sitting in the chair, her hair and face glinting in the light, was the most beautiful woman Teyla had ever seen.

Her small, pale face and figure looked out of place compared to the tall, tanned villagers she ruled. Her blond hair cascaded down her back, and fell to a stop at her hips. Her eyes were blue and soft, though they held a piercing glance. The lead warrior bowed deeply as he came to a stop beside her and Teyla encouraged the others silently to follow suit.

The woman smiled beautifully and stood up, her bare feet pulling her out of the shadows. She walked down to stand in front of Teyla and encouraged her to be seated on some cushions on the floor. As soon as she had, the woman collapsed gracefully to sit beside her.

"I am Aela, ruler of this village. Who are you and how may I be of service to you?" Her voice was soft and quiet and she was fluent in English, a contrast to the villagers.

"I am Teyla Emmagan, this is Ronon Dex" she pointed to Ronon and he nodded briefly "we are here to ask if anyone like us has been seen on this world."

Aela smiled "Other than you, we have not had any visitors in ten thousand years."

Teyla stared "is that so? How do you know that?"

Aela smirked "My ancestor married an ancient 10,000 years ago and passed down his memory and knowledge to younger generations until me, 5,000 years ago. Now, I watch over these people and keep a record of everything that happens in this area of space."

Teyla gently interrupted "5,000 years ago. Forgive me, but you look barely 22 years old, how can you be 5,000 years old."

Ala smiled daintily again "I ascended when my ancient ancestor decided that I could be of better use as a protector and help him keep an eye on the growing wraith activity. Somehow he has managed to keep me a secret from the others." She winked mischievously "let's hope they don't find out or it will spell trouble."

Teyla nodded "so you've heard nothing about the Atlantean settlers in the last few months?"

Aela shook her head "well no…. but… I did hear something funny about a wraith collection lately; they were bringing a bounty to this area of space." She frowned as she tried to remember.

Teyla stared at her "how can you possibly know that?"

"It's quite simple. Now I am ascended, I have been able to pick up communications from vessels that are close by. Of course I can't have too many 'powers' because the others would pick up on it."

"What did they say abut this bounty?" Teyla began to get very eager and leaned closer to the woman.

"Well, it was a brief message but they said something about delivering an important gift to their leader. I guess that means your leaders are this gift."

Teyla nodded gently before faltering "wait how did you know…?"

"A…scen…ded" smirked Aela "you pick up on these things, especially when you're blaring them in your thoughts."

"Right…. Anyway, what about the wraith? I take it you know something that could help us?"

Aela winced, her pain showing through the lock she had with Teyla's eyes "the wraith are a formidable adversary to this galaxy, in particular to this area of space. This place is a wraith stronghold. This is where the fleet of ships that crippled the main Atlantis fleet came from."

Silence was left in her wake as she paused to drink from a glass. Even Ronon had crouched down to listen closely.

"uh-hum, sorry, all I can say about that place is that every assault on the wraith here has failed and the planet responsible has ALWAYS been destroyed. The only reason we're still around is because the wraith don't know we're here. Every other planet in this area has no human life left."

"In short" she concluded "if you want to rescue your people, you need a way around the cruellest creatures' stronghold and nothing short of a miracle."


	8. Chapter 7: Bug patrol

_Another chapter for you to enjoy!! The next few are quite short in comparison to my other chapters so I'll post pretty successively. Reviews are appreciated and make my life shiny!!_

**Chapter 7 – Bug Patrol.**

The sun rose on the leaders first morning in the forest. The sun gently crept into the clearing, creating a golden glow that automatically woke Weir up. At some point in the night, she had dozed off, leaving no-one on watch. Knowing how Sheppard would react to this, she allowed herself a few moments of composure before gently prodding Sheppard to wake him.

"huh…nya…huh?" Sheppard asked, his eyes snapping open and staring about in confusion. Weir settled a hand on his arm and he looked up at her, a flash of remembrance hitting his face. "oh…" he sighed "I was hoping this was all a wacky dream."

"I'm afraid not John" Weir smiled "you feel up to a long walk today?"

Sheppard looked up at the sky and frowned "why is it morning? Why didn't you wake me for my watch?"

Weir smiled again, her smile becoming slightly fixed "because you needed the sleep. And besides" she said, raising her voice over his protests "if you'd have fainted, we'd have been in real trouble."

Sheppard shut his mouth angrily before opening it again with an idea "then maybe you should take some time now and have a little rest." He indicated the sunny clearing with a flourish.

Immediately sensing what was going on, she asked directly "what's wrong?" she glared at him to show that he had to answer.

"My leg's a little numb, that's all" Sheppard said sheepishly, failing in his effort to sound dismissive "it's no big, I just need a moment before we set out and I'll be fine."

"Either way, you won't be able to walk on that leg much, if at all. Why don't you just lean on me. That way it'll be easier for you and you won't damage that leg any more."

Sheppard shook his head "You're exhausted from yesterday Elizabeth and I didn't like how much I was leaning on you then."

Weir laughed "John, don't worry, no-one's going to think any the less of you if you rely on me" she broke away giggling.

"Wait, it has absolutely nothing to do with that, though now you mention it, I'm not comfortable with that either "I don't want to waste your energy that you could need to get home."

Weir stroked his hair "John, if we stay here, we're never going to get home. If we get moving now with you leaning on me, we might get there sooner, AND you'll be yelled at less by Beckett because your leg might just be fixable."

Sheppard joined in her laughter and finally accepted the proposal.

Ten minutes later, the pair were ready to move out. After several attempts of trying to put on Sheppard's t-shirt, they decided to abandon it and Sheppard just wore his jacket, the shirt stuffed in a pocket to avoid leaving a trail for the wraith.

The left the clearing slowly, Sheppard's good arm wrapped over Weir's shoulder, her taking his weight as he carefully started hobbling his way over from tree to tree. They had decided to keep close to each tree to ensure that if there were any passing wraith darts, they wouldn't be seen.

By mid-morning, Weir and Sheppard were both exhausted and hungry though neither would admit it to the other. Rain started to fall, adding insult to injury, and soon the pair were soaked through to the skin and freezing, as the temperature dropped rapidly.

By the time they started up after their eighth break, the couple were huddled together as the rain pounded down on them. The trees didn't do a very good job of keeping the rain away from them and any large patches of forest cover would leave them wetter as the trees dropped the water their leaves had collected on the drenched pair.

Finally, as they stopped for lunch under the driest tree they could find, Sheppard came to an uncomfortable decision. Aware that, in their current situation, if a problem were to arise, he would be of little help, he decided Weir needed something he wouldn't be able to use.

Clearing his throat uncomfortably and preparing himself for a fight, he muttered to Weir "Elizabeth, I've been thinking…" he paused nervously.

"About what?" she asked, through a mouthful of power bar.

"About this" he awkwardly pulled his 9mm from his holster, wincing at the movement. Weir stared at it suspiciously before returning her gaze to him "obviously, I'm not in the best condition and because of this" he indicated his right arm which was shaking gently "my aim's not gonna be very good."

"I'll take it" Weir said gently, surprising both Sheppard and herself.

"Really?" Sheppard asked, suspicious at the lack of opposition.

"you said so yourself, you'd be pretty poor at aiming and I'd rather you didn't shoot me!" she smiled at him "don't worry I've had practice. Let's just hope I won't have to use it."

"kay" Sheppard agreed, indicating that they should get moving again.

As they pulled themselves to their feet, Sheppard heard Weir whisper "and I don' want you to get more hurt."

Sheppard looked at the gun, now clipped to her side and realised the hand-over meant more than he thought it did.

The gate room steps were covered with medics, friends and shivering men wrapped in blankets. Standing away from them, Mckay watched guiltily as his fellow team mates as they shivered on the steps. He ignored Zelenka's fussing and watched the rest of the ream being fussed over themselves.

Lorne came over to him and patted him on the back "hey" he muttered, through chattering teeth "we're about to go to the infirmary. You coming?"

Mckay shook his head "no, there's something Zelenka says I need to go look at. If the others get back tell them I'm in my lab."

Mckay walked off, casting another guilty look at his team, speeding up when he saw Beckett turn to look for him. Zelenka followed right behind him, placing a blanket around his friends shivering shoulders.

Lorne watched him go sadly and shook his head sadly. Beckett came up to him and followed Lorne's gaze "I was wondering where he had got to. What's wrong?"

Lorne shrugged "there was a little problem on the planet. We got into a little argument and Mckay made us stay longer. Now he blames himself for this. I didn't realise how much he cared for Sheppard."

Beckett snorted "yeah, lad, that's one weird friendship they've got."

Lorne looked at Mckay's retreating back "He's so loyal. He kept saying that we had to keep looking even though he was freezing to death."

"Yeah, it's a rea-" Beckett's words were drowned out as the gate activated. The medics in the gate room sprang to action and equipment and patients were quickly scurried out of the gate room. Everyone else quickly moved away from the debarkation area.

As the seventh chevron locked, the people got a distant sensation of heat, before Teyla's team, sunburnt but intact, burst through the gate.

As they shook sand from their hair and boots, they looked up and spotted Lorne and Beckett, Lorne looking a polar opposite to them.

In a silent agreement the group moved up the steps and into the conference room. Five seconds later, Lorne's frozen icicle of a group also made it into the conference room, much to the chagrin of Beckett and the medics.

Lorne looked at his people and then at Teyla's and felt the strange urge to laugh. Pushing it down, he turned to Ronon and Teyla "I take it there was no sign of the wraith on your planet either."

Ronon was looking suspiciously at him "where did you guys end up?"

"Somewhere very cold, now focus. Apparantely AR-3 took the opportunity to have a quick scout out of some of the other worlds on Mckay's list but all they came up with were barren wastelands or worlds pretty much wiped out by wraith."

"We came up with some good information, though we found no sign of Colonel Sheppard or Doctor Weir."

Teyla offered.

"Yeah? Tell me about it?" Lorne asked, intrigued.

"Very well, it starts with a young ancient woman named Aela…."

The day was wearing on for Sheppard and Weir as the rain continued to fall. Weir was tired and cold but she didn't dare crash his spirits, which were strangely raised. He was whistling gently to himself, stumbling blindly as his sodden hair fell over his eyes.

As the days were quite short and nights long, the sun was already staring to set and the pair started to think about making camp. As they began their search for a prospective camp, Weir heard the sound of running water nearby. Looking at the still whistling Sheppard, she nudged him in the direction of the sounds.

Five minutes into her search, she came across a camp site. It was smaller and rougher than the previous night but it would suit their needs for the night. The stream or river that she could hear was now very close, so she put Sheppard down against a tree in order to go search for it.

"John? Hello, John? I'll be gone for just a little while. I'm just going to find water, we're nearly out." Sheppard looked up at her and smiled, his gaze slightly unfocused.

A little unsettled by this, she gave him one last, piercing look before heading off.

It took her a further three minutes to find the water source. It was a little stream, overflowing from the rain. The water was murky and dark but it smelt alright, and the water itself was quite clean when she held it in her hands. Dipping her canteen into the stream, she waited as it filled up and then took a long drink from it. It was then that she heard Sheppard's yell.

Sheppard was in a good mood. The freezing rain had numbed him to the core and he could no longer feel the burning pain that had been plaguing him before. Although he was vaguely aware that he was going slightly crazy, he felt better than he had done in a long while, and his spirits were greatly raised because of it.

Weir had gone off somewhere to look for something though he couldn't quite remember what and he heartily ignored the nervous feeling he got. All he was concerned with was the nice, soft clearing he had been left in and the deep, dragging desire to shut his eyes and go to sleep.

Alarm bells began to ring in his head, warning him not to sleep because of someone called "Mr. bumponthehead, but he didn't know who that was so he pushed it aside and happily closed his eyes.

In his dream he was following something. A great black shape that got bigger and deeper as he tried to approach it. Just looking at it made him feel heavy. The shape suddenly stopped moving away and turned to face him, becoming solid as it did so.

Two yellow eyes stared at him maliciously and its many legs waved threateningly. Sheppard slowed, begging the creature to stay where it was, but it didn't listen. It edged closer, pincers clicking with delight at its prey.

Sheppard was rooted to the spot in fear. The creature had reached him now and was starting to climb its way up his body. The feeling of the creature's legs on his was a feeling that felt all too real….

Back in the forest, Sheppard's eyes snapped open and focused on his mangled leg. Frightened by his vivid dream, fear overtook caution and he screamed.

Weir shot back to the clearing, the canteen slopping water in her arms. Her mind was racing with images of a dead Sheppard, killed in a variety of horrid and gruesome ways, the pictures fuelling her speed in getting back to Sheppard.

She burst into the clearing to see Sheppard in a state of panic, attacking his leg in a bad attempt to remove a big yellow… something from it. Without a thought of what it was, she raced towards him and tore it off of his leg and threw it to the ground. The small creature turned and hissed at her, blood dripping from small, sharp fangs. Without a moments hesitation, she pulled out her gun and shot it.

Convinced that it was dead, she walked over and picked it up before sitting down next to Sheppard. He was breathing heavily and looked very red.

"John, are you okay?" she asked, staring at him and then at the bug.

"Yeah" he muttered, clearly embarrassed "I'm not good with bugs."

"I didn't think it would wind you up that much."

"Well, it reminds me too much of certain events I would rather forget" Sheppard muttered "and it doesn't help that it decided to wake me up from a bad dream."

Weir put a hand on his shoulder and handed him the bug "when we get home, I'll help you get over that little… fear."

"Thanks" Sheppard smiled sarcastically, eyeing the yellow bug warily.

"But firsts things first" she took the bug off of him "here's our dinner!"

Sheppard glared at her "You're kidding…. Right?"

Mckay had been working in his lab for over an hour and, try as he might, he couldn't get the results he wanted. In his absence, Zelenka had achieved a breakthrough with the long range tracker that they had been working on before everything had happened.

Zelenka was working feverishly, trying to recreate the environment that had enabled him to focus on an individual wraith ship, but Mckay was beginning to think that the success had been a fluke.

He had been excited to hear of the progress as it could have theoretically led to finding Weir and Sheppard, but now it seemed to be nothing more than a dream.

Mckay sighed and pounded the device in anger. Zelenka was about to voice a protest when the machine emitted a beep and flashed on, flying to the area Mckay was thinking about, the quadrant where Sheppard and Weir were.

Mckay and Zelenka stared at it in silence as fourteen wraith ships began flashing at them. Zelenka grinned at Mckay, patting him on the back.

Hardly daring to believe it, Mckay fingered his earpiece and hailed Lorne.

Lorne had just finished the reports in the conference room when he got the call from Mckay. Apologising to his waiting team members, he opened a link.

"Lorne, it's Mckay, do you have a minute?" Mckay seemed urgent and agitated so Lorne listened intently.

"Of course, why?"

"Can you and your data on the quadrant appear in my lab in the next… two minutes please? Mckay out."

Lorne was perplexed, not alone angry about the impossible time frame that he had been given to get to the ass end of Atlantis where Mckay's lab was. Sighing he stood up and picked up his data pad "if you excuse me, I'm needed somewhere." He nodded to everyone and walked off, noting that everyone was nodding in understanding and muttering "Mckay" to each other.

It wasn't till he reached the transporter, that he realised he was being followed. Realising it was Teyla and Ronon, he moved over and let them stand beside him.

Ronon nodded to him and muttered "what's Mckay want?" Teyla frowned at him as he squished her into the back of the small cupboard.

"I don't know. He just wants me and this" he waved his data pad, which was difficult in the small space. The doors opened and the trio fell out and began a brisk walk to the lab "I guess we'll find out when we get there."

Three minutes later, they arrived at Mckay's lab to find a very annoyed Rodney on their hands and a stressed Radek. Mckay was tapping his foot impatiently and all but snatched the data pad from Lorne's hand when he came in.

"I said two minutes but does he listen, oh no" Mckay muttered to himself before starting his work, Zelenka hurrying around him following his orders.

Finally, the movement stopped and there was silence in the lab. Everyone waited with bated breath as Mckay and Zelenka peered at the machine and after a minute and a few beeps from the device, the pair gave a simultaneous choke of horror. Mckay stared at the device again while Zelenka ran over to his laptop, and, after checking something, looked up at Mckay and shook his head sadly.

Perplexed, Lorne asked "what is it? What's wrong?"

Mckay looked at the people surrounding him in horror and then turned his attention back to the machine in front of him "this is bad. Very, very bad" he muttered.

"What's wrong?" asked Lorne again, taking a step forward and placing a hand on Mckay's arm.

Mckay wheeled around, Zelenka's pure, white face facing him in understanding. "We know where they are" Mckay admitted, his eyes downcast with defeat.

Lorne stared at them incredulously "but tha… that's a good thing isn't it?" he spluttered. The rest of the group looked just as confused.

"That depends" Mckay commented bluntly "I assume you've all heard of a planet named M6A 722."

He smiled grimly as all but Ronon's faces turned a ghastly shade of grey.

Ronon looked around in confusion "I take it that's bad?"


	9. Chapter 8: Fortress Tales

Yay!! I got more reviews!! This is a really short chapter but it kinda had to be, so… just think of it as a taster for the chapter that I'll put up on Friday! More reviews would be lovely. I only need twelve more to reach my target!!

**Chapter 8 – Fortress Tales.**

A fire blazed merrily in the clearing, persevering despite the rain that was still falling. Sheppard and Weir huddled together beside it, tucking into their meal of roasted bug, Sheppard somewhat reluctantly, and talked about everything that had happened the past few days, speculating why they had been sold out to the wraith.

After a lull in conversation where Weir went to fetch more water, Sheppard came up with an amusing theory to lighten the mood "this is a chess game" he said, grinning at Weir.

"You what?" Weir asked, sounding unlike herself.

Sheppard laughed, rubbing his chest painfully "well, the wraith are the pawns, obviously, things you get rid off. And that place is a castle, protecting the king of the wraith and you're the queen" he grinned at her, embarrassed and she smiled back, flattered.

"What are you then, the king?"

"Oh no" Sheppard hook his head "I'm a knight. Kings are pointless. They're not good pieces and they're too important. Not me. Pus knights have the whole protecting thing going for them which is cool."

"Okay…" Weir was perplexed, but se smiled nonetheless.

Sheppard nodded, his goal reached and settled down to eat more of the surprisingly tasty bug. After a minute, Weir asked "Black or white pieces?"

"Black. Definitely black" Sheppard said automatically "being white is too stereotypical of the good evil thing and black looks cooler anyway." He tore off a leg of the bug and munched it noisily.

"Okay, who are the rest of our pieces" Weir asked, completely drawn in by the conversation.

"Well" Sheppard started, with a smirk "this could be interesting…"

Mckay was preparing himself for a long talk and even Ronon didn't dare with his popcorn joke that he usually used with Mckay's speeches. The group was still settled in Mckay's lab and they all looked nervously at one another as Mckay started his story.

"M6A 722 was one of the first missions we ever did and I think it's still to date, one of our shortest as well. It lasted ten minutes" he answered Ronon's confused look before continuing "We'd been in Atlantis for three months and we were starting to do serious surveying of Pegasus and the wraith threat. 'wraithworld' as Ford named it, was the worst place I have ever been to and we didn't actually get that close to any wraith. We went by puddle jumper and stayed just long enough to see that the place was crawling with wraith."

Teyla broke in "Aela did say that it was a wraith stronghold."

Mckay frowned "Aela? Anyway, M6A 722 seemed to be the focus of the wraith 'stronghold'. It housed a fortress in the distance that was made up of a few hiveships all joined together with a big landing platform in the middle. All in all a scary place."

"How do we get them out of there?" Ronon asked, flexing his muscles suggestively.

"As attractive as that looks Ronon, no. It won't simply be go in, get them out. Even Sheppard described it as 'a cold, wraithy version of hell and he's not one to exaggerate…. All that much."

"So what can we do?" Teyla asked, her voice tiny.

"I don't know but at least things can't get any worse" Mckay offered.

Lorne and Zelenka groaned "you had to say it Rodney" Zelenka grumbled "now we are jinxed."

Mckay laughed coldly "you don't believe in that crap, do you?" Zelenka raised his eyebrows and Mckay faltered "it's just superstition, it can't possibly come true." Mckay no longer looked sure of it and Lorne's only response was to pat him on the back sadly.


	10. Chapter 9: Dreams

_Da da da da!!! (that's supposed to be triumph music or something… don't ask, hard day) Anyways! Here's the next chapter as promised. Cos it's the weekend I wont be able to update but I promise at least 4 next week, starting on Monday! Thanks to JackFan2 for the correction, I changed the mistake. _

**Chapter 9 – Dreams.**

On their second morning in the forest, the sun was barely up, before the pair were on their feet and crashing through the dense overgrowth that had grown in that part of the forest. The forest was still wet from the rain on the previous day and the forest floor had grown slippery and their progress was slowed by Sheppard's frequent falls.

As the morning passed and the sun rose higher, the ground dried, and Weir found the terrain of the forest becoming easier to handle with the absence of water. Sheppard however, was still stumbling and falling, and every time, it seemed to take him longer to pull himself to his feet.

Eventually, Sheppard fell and didn't get up again. Weir waited a moment before pulling his face from the dirt and turning him over. Sheppard's raspy breathing made Weir's stomach churn but she pushed it away and poked him to get his attention.

"John? Hello in there!"

Sheppard's eyes snapped to hers and he blinked "Why'd it go hot all of a sudden, I can't breath."

Weir was speechless for a moment, taken aback by the easiness in which he released the information. He usually kept such problems to himself. She felt his forehead "you have a fever John, and a pretty bad one at that."

"I'm so sleepy" Sheppard muttered, closing his eyes.

"Oi" Weir barked sharply, slapping the side of his face "don't you dare leave me on this godforsaken rock on my own."

Sheppard roused slowly, blinking at her "sorry, I'm just so tired" he shrugged gently and attempted a grin that didn't fool her for a second.

"No wonder, John, you've probably got a concussion" Weir stroked his hair supportively.

"Yeah cos of Mr. youknowwho" Sheppard grinned again, pulling himself to his feet "sorry, let's get going again."

"Alright, just don't do that again" Weir replied angrily "you got mud on me" she said pointing to her nose, where a large splash lay, and her cheeks.

Sheppard grinned mischievously, causing him to stumble slightly "think of it as a free facial" Weir glared at him, resisting the urge to push him in the mud.

They walked on, talking about nothing in particular before Sheppard mentioned "I wonder if they're doing anything in commemoration of the genii invasion back home."

"I don't know. Most of the personnel don't know much about what happened so I don't think there'll be anything big planned. Mckay and the others might have a little something. Though I do hope they're trying to find us instead, you know?"

Sheppard smiled "yeah, that would be better. Then again, if we were thinking about better, I'd go with not being on an alien planet inhabited by life sucking creatures."

"That's your dream in life, is it?" Weir snorted.

"No, truthfully…." He paused as he tried to clear a sudden uncomfortable feeling "my dream in life is to not have to take another human life. I know it's an almost impossible dream to achieve, but it would be nice. I'd like to not have another life added to my killed list."

"One, I hope you don't actually have a killed list and two, you kill to live, you don't live to kill if you get what I mean. You kill because you have to, to protect others."

An image flashed into Sheppard's mind, a blue arm, clasped around a thin, fragile neck, squeezing out the life. He gasped in shock and nearly fell over.

"Are you alright?" Weir gasped, her feet sinking into the mud as she was forced to take most of his weight.

"Just remembered something I'd like to take back. Remember when we met the kid wraith and the stuff after that?" Sheppard's voice grew quiet "what I did to you wasn't because I was protecting anything."

"Yes I remember, it wasn't that long ago" Weir answered gently "and I knew we should have talked about it. You shouldn't have let it eat you John. You know I forgave you, you weren't yourself."

Sheppard nodded "I know that, but I wondered, did that come from me. is that part of my nature? Just buried?"

Weir sighed gently "I'm not a psychologist John, but I believe that that sort of behaviour is in everyone, it just depends how you control it. You control I superbly John and if I didn't believe in you, believe me, you wouldn't be my 2IC. Now, are you done?, you're kinda heavy when you self-analyze."

Sheppard snorted "Yeah, I'm done. I just wanna say I'm sorry."

Weir shook her head "not another word John, I forgave you. Besides, you didn't leave a mark and I fared better than the two guards did."

"I took them off bad duties for a month cos of that. Do you think that was enough?"

Weir nodded "I think that's plenty. Walman and Magson forgave you too. They're still friendly with you aren't they? Hey, look" Weir pointed up ahead "you see that?"

"Ahead of them, the mountains loomed close. Seeing them for the first time, Weir's fear of Sheppard's condition came rushing back and she bit her lip worriedly. Pushing it away before Sheppard noticed, she pushed them on, Sheppard stumbling at the force she applied to it "sorry" she muttered, slowing her pace.

Noticing the worry in her eyes, Sheppard continued the subject "what about you? What's your dream? Apart from getting home!"

Weir smiled "Well, for you to stop getting yourself hurt at every opportunity."

"I don't do it on purpose!" Sheppard responded indignantly.

"Sometimes I'm not so sure" Weir responded coyly "but my greatest dream is to meet the ancients, you know the ones who made and cared for the city, so we can have help unlocking he city's secrets."

"Nothing to big then" Sheppard laughed, causing Weir to follow suit. He rested his head on her hair as they walked and breathed "just think, over those mountains is home and a nice hot bath."

The pair both smiled and as they set off again, Weir looked across at Sheppard, at his drawn, pained face and the stumble in his walk, and felt herself hoping that Sheppard was still with her and still holding on at that time.

-----

Lorne was busy in the control room when Mckay approached him, a worried look on his face. After their meeting in Mckay's lab, Lorne had been privately contemplating the situation and, like the others, had come up with very little worthwhile.

At the present moment, he was busy giving the technicians something to do, by making them run diagnostics on every system they had got up and running to date. The technicians weren't happy but it was at least taking their minds off their missing leaders, which was weighing heavily on everyone.

Mckay stood behind him, bouncing on his heels impatiently. When Lorne finally turned around, Mckay was so close that it scared him half to death. "Sorry, sorry" Mckay said unsympathetically "it's just I thought I'd let you know I've become a lot more superstitious."

Lorne eyed him suspiciously "What's happened?"

As anticipated, things have got a lot, lot worse. I think everyone's forgotten that our weekly earth update is due to be sent in….oooh, a half hour and it's missing two important things."

Lorne slapped his head "Let me guess, Weir's report and Colonel Sheppard's military provisions update. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Mckay shrank back slightly before defiantly replying "Zelenka only just reminded me and he only just remembered so you can't blame him either."

Lorne sighed and pulled Mckay into Weir's office "Sheppard wouldn't have started on his report but Weir's might be finished. I'll try to make a report up. You go look through Weir's files and see if she has a report that we can send, even if it's not finished."

-----

Twenty eight minutes, both men were in a seriously bad mood. "They're aren't going to buy that there's no report from doctor Weir because she has a cold." Lorne growled at Mckay.

"Well you couldn't think of anything better" Mckay retorted "and your report was terrible. It sounded nothing like Sheppard."

"Have you read anything of Sheppard's that would go to a superior?"

"Well, no, but it can't be that different can it?"

"How would I know!? I've never done anything like it" Lorne ignored the technicians worried looks and focused on the dialling gate "either way, they're going to smell a rat, but this way we might just get away with it" the gate roared open and Lorne nodded at the technician in front of him "send the transmission."

Lorne sighed as the technician replied "transmission sent" and the gate shut down. He moved away toward the conference room where it seemed that half of Atlantis itself had assembled. Speaking quieter he added "as soon as Colonel Sheppard and Doctor Weir are back, they can smooth this all out."

Mckay nodded and then nervously whispered "what if we're…. too late…. to save them, I mean?" both men silent pleaded for a different eventuality at that moment.

"Then God help Atlantis with it's new commander and let's hope that doesn't happen."

_Does anyone else think I've got a slight obsession with Major Lorne!... He's my third favourite character. After Sheppard and Weir of course!_


	11. Chapter 10: Refusals

_Hi y'all!! Sorry, I know I said Monday, but I have flu so I'm feeling a bit nyurgh…if you catch my drift…anyways here's chapter 10, reviews appreciated, might make me feel better. Enjoy!!_

**Chapter 10 – Refusals.**

The sound in the conference room had grown to a deafening level until Lorne took control of the situation. Raising his voice to a booming level, he held his arms up and bellowed "SHUT IT!!"

The effect was instantaneous. Every head, soldier to scientist, turned in his direction, and a silence fell over the room and out into the gate room. Lorne smiled smugly at the dumbstruck faces, a few had their mouths hanging open gormlessly, and cleared his throat importantly.

"Thank you. As you are all aware, we did not tell Earth of our… little problem. But with the absence of Weir's report that she always writes and the military request that I had to make up for Sheppard, the SGC are probably going to smell a rat. This means that the Daedalus will be coming back here in half the time it usually takes" he shook his head "at best, you know they'll do anything. So, we don't have long. We have to make our minds up as to what to do. Any suggestions will be welcome at this point."

A scientist stood up, his face tight with nervousness "we should wait till the Daedalus gets here. We won't be able to do anything without their help."

A loud roar of disapproval met this suggestion and the scientist slunk back into his seat. Lorne shook his head kindly "it would be nice if we could wait for the Daedalus' help, but we don't have the luxury of time here."

Mckay stood up, leaving behind a mixture of hush and chatter and coughed "considering that it's a _fortress, _I suggest that a large military contingent go in and pull them out."

Lorne sighed and shook his head. All around the room, people were looking at Mckay as if he was crazy. "No" Lorne said finally "we don' have the resources or the stupidity to do something like that." He glared at Mckay pointedly as if to say 'shut the hell up, you moron.'

Mckay collapsed into his chair with a huff, and sulkily played with his cast.

Finally, it was Zelenka who stood up, after a minutes silence where no-one offered a suggestion "Maybe we should send a jumper and scout the area properly and maybe do a sweep to see if Colonel Sheppard and Doctor Weir have somehow made it outside the compound. If not, then we can make more decisions from there."

Lorne sent a look of overwhelming gratitude over in Zelenka's direction and he accepted it with a smile. This only made Mckay glower more. The rest of the group in the conference room nodded their heads enthusiastically and started talking happily with each other.

"Well, that settles that then" Lorne muttered to himself before sidling over to Teyla and Ronon, who were sitting closely together in the corner of the room, talking quietly. They both looked up as he came over, before he had even said a word.

"I want you two to come with me, along with Walman and Magson, is that okay?" Lorne mumbled to them, somehow feeling slightly nervous.

Teyla nodded brusquely "That's fine, when do we leave?" Ronon tensed up beside her and looked at Lorne expectantly, one hand falling to his gun.

"An hour max, we shouldn't leave later than that." Lorne replied, looking for heir approval.

Ronon shook his head "make it half an hour. Let's get everyone's butts in gear."

Lorne nodded slowly "Okay, but I don't think it can be done. I'll inform Walman and Magson."

Ronon and Teyla nodded to him and quickly left the room, leaving a few people staring after them. Lorne walked over to a group of Sf's and had a quick word with Walman and Magson, before he himself walked out of the conference room.

Just as he had taken the gate room steps down, he was intercepted by Beckett. Beckett was looking very anxious and was still muttering slightly to himself.

"Doctor Beckett, what can I do for you?" Lorne said calmly, trying to keep any note of annoyance out of his voice.

"I'm going too" Beckett responded shortly, nodding sharply in emphasis.

Lorne was baffled "forgive me, but we're just doing a survey sweep. There's not much that a doctor such as yourself can do in that situation."

Beckett's anxiousness gave way to irritation "look, if you do happen to chance upon them, you may need me to help and besides…. Besides, I need to be doing something. I can't just sit here doing nothing anymore."

Lorne suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of sympathy for the doctor "alright doc, but just for the sweep. If we do find something that indicates we could storm the complex, you have to go, deal?"

"Deal" Beckett replied "I'll be ready in twenty, don't worry." He rushed off, leaving Lorne standing alone, still trying to understanding exactly what had just happened.

-----

As the sun rose to its highest on their second afternoon in the forest, Sheppard and Weir were already on their feet and crashing through the forest, a matter made increasingly difficult by the weight Sheppard was now forced to continually put on Weir. Therefore, they were not going as quickly nor as far by the time they stopped for each break they had planned.

Unlike the previous afternoon, the sky was clear and the temperature was not freezing cold, so Weir had been able to remove her sopping jacket and wrap it around the shivering Sheppard who was slowly succumbing to shock, though he was doing good job at keeping it at bay.

The pair travelled in the same style for over an hour before deciding to have a long break. Weir all but collapsed against a tree in her exhaustion, just managing to keep Sheppard on his feet. Since their conversation that morning, not a word had left Sheppard's lips and Weir was beginning to question if he was doing as well as he pretended.

Lowering both herself and him to the ground, she pulled out their canteen and gave it to him before taking a large drink herself. Seeing that he had made no protest to this unscheduled rest, Weir nudged him gently, hoping to get a response. All she received was a shaky, quiet "mmm?" followed by a bout of coughing that took another swig of the canteen to get rid of.

"How are you doing there John?" Weir asked good-naturedly but again she only received a neutral grunt as an answer. Finally, Weir got frustrated in spite of herself. "Look John, I can't tell if you are coping if you don't talk to me, okay? Speak up; let me know what's going on, for Christ's sake!"

Sheppard turned slowly to look at her and she automatically felt ashamed of herself "sorry, it's just, I need you to talk to me, you know. I need someone to help me. I'm sorry if that sounds selfish, but I'm not good at being commanding officer guy."

Sheppard smiled, through it didn't quite meet his eyes "you're doing great to me" he croaked, staring at her right in the eyes "but, you're right, I should tell you what I've been thinking."

"O…kay" Weir replied, suddenly feeling a large sense of foreboding.

"We've been here two days now right? I've estimated that at our slowing pace, we have at least another five or six days walk ahead of us. Now, think about it if it was just you. At a steady pace, you could make it to the gate in a maximum of three days. Which is better?"

Weir didn't respond straight away, but just stood there glaring at him. Finally she screwed up enough courage to say "No. No way John. I am not leaving you here while I go back home."

"Well you would send someone to come get me after" Sheppard answered unhelpfully.

Weir smiled, but carried on glaring nonetheless "John, we're in this together and we'll get out of this together. I'm sorry if that sounds soppy and just what a diplomat would say but that's just how it is."

She stood up, her hands on her hips.

Sheppard smirked "no, most diplomats would say 'it's everyone for themselves but cover my six'! You're quite different, Elizabeth."

"Thank you, I'm… flattered but…" Weir was quite taken aback, until she caught on to what he was doing "… hey! Don't charm me into doing whatever you want."

Sheppard shrugged "hey, it usually works."

Weir rolled her eyes, getting her own back by wiping the sweat off Sheppard's face, making him scowl.

There was a few minutes silence whilst each of them thought of nothing to say. Finally Weir spoke up.

"John, what makes you think _I _can make it through this place on my own? No" she shook her head forcefully "if we are to make it off of his planet, we'll do it together, okay?"

When Sheppard gave no answer, she poked him and repeated sharply "Okay? Let's remember the rule of _no man gets left behind_."

Finally Sheppard appeared to give in as he sighed and replied "okay Elizabeth, we'll stick to each other."

Weir smiled at him as he closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, he smiled mischievously "at least you're not mad at me any more!"

-----

"Alright Jumper three, you have a go" the technicians voice swam over the radio. A split-second later, Lorne slammed on the acceleration and the ship sped through the gate at such a speed that the inertial dampeners couldn't completely handle the jolt.

The puddle jumper flew out of the destination stargate and hurtled into the sky, the mountains shrinking rapidly the further up the ship went. When Lorne finally stopped, the landmarks of the mountains and forest looked nothing more than coloured specks and the fortress itself, way down on the planet's surface looked as if it was a tiny bug just waiting to be squished. Lorne only wished that it would be true in reality.

"Right" Beckett announced, picking himself up from the jumper floor "What should we do first? Go investigate the fortress or do a nearby scan of the planet for human life signs?"

Lorne sighed "well, whatever we find at the fortress is going to be too hard for us to handle. I reckon we should just look for them outside first and remove that possibility, before checking in with Atlantis."

Teyla nodded her support "I agree major Lorne. It is unlikely that they made it out of the fortress but we should remove any doubt. Besides, Colonel Sheppard may have found an opportunity to free Doctor Weir even if he could not escape."

"Alright then it's settled, we'll search between the fortress and the gate. If we can't find any sign of them, we'll contact Atlantis. Let's go"

Only now remembering to cloak, Lorne careered towards the fortress and activated the ships sensors.

-----

An hour and a half later, the ship was back hovering over the mountains. Lorne stopped the scans and sat back, a sour expression on his face.

Teyla reached down to pat him gently on the back "Come now, major Lorne, we knew this would be a long shot at best. We just have to come up with a new approach, that's all."

"I know, I know" Lorne ground his knuckles into his head in frustration "it's just this planet, it's getting to me. Not only is it infested with wraith, it has areas like the forest that the sensors can't penetrate. I just don't see why not though. It doesn't make sense."

"Well that forest is big" Beckett offered unhelpfully "maybe it has something to do with that." The rest of the group had now come over to join them in the cockpit.

"Yeah maybe" Lorne replied, unconvinced.

Finally, Ronon broke the tense silence that had enveloped the group by saying "let's call Atlantis and see if Mckay has any more bright ideas."

This got everyone's approval and Ronon moved over to the D.H.D. Before he had even finished entering the third symbol, he paused, his blood turning cold.

Whirling around, he locked eyes with Teyla, ignoring the confused looks he got from the others "do you hear that?"

Teyla paused for a moment and closed her eyes. Finally she nodded "wraith." Her small statement sent the others into a slight panic.

"Where?" urged Lorne, silencing the others.

"Close" replied Teyla shortly again "and coming this way."

"Maybe it needs to use the gate" Beckett said again, trying to be calm, his voice quaver giving him away "besides we're cloaked aren't we laddie?"

Lorne frowned "whatever it's doing, it doesn't want to use the gate."

"Why?" Ronon enquired.

"Because it's scanning for something. Us, I think."

"What? But we're cloaked, how come they'd be looking for us?" Beckett was dumbfounded.

Lorne looked at them guiltily "I forgot to cloak as soon as we left the gate. They may have picked us up then." He sighed and slapped his head "I'm such an idiot."

"Don't worry we're cloaked now, aren't we, so it won't find anything." Beckett stated, patting him on the back just as Teyla had done.

"Yeah" agreed Lorne, brightening "Yeah you're right."

Suddenly, an energy blast was fired from the wraith ship, which narrowly missed the jumper. The blast shaking the ship, the cloak failed as it broke and the wraith dart closed in for the kill.

-----

Down in the forest, Sheppard and Weir paused as the sounds of fire reached their ears. Looking up, they saw a wraith dart screech overhead. Ducking into the undergrowth the pair looked at each other and scrambled to their feet, Sheppard stumbling as he fell and was pulled up by a desperate Weir, darting for the cover of a large tree, desperate not to be seen by the dart.

-----

"How the hell did it know where we'd be?" Ronon demanded angrily, pounding on the cockpit console. Teyla grabbed his hand to prevent him repeating the action and breaking some of the ship. Sheppard would not be happy if that were to happen.

"I do not know Ronon, but Aela did say these were some of the strongest wraith in the galaxy. Maybe they have added technology that other wraith do not."

Having earlier been briefed about Teyla's eventful planet search, Lorne understood what Teyla meant. Quickly moving out if the way of another shot from the wraith dart, Lorne did not break his focus as he conveyed his concurrence.

The wraith did not seem to be giving up and had not yet sent a message to its headquarters. Finally losing patience, Lorne decided to blow it out of the sky before it could do just that. Reaching inside his mind, he activated a drone and sent it flying at the dart. The ship had no time to move out of the line of fire and abruptly burst into flames.

Looking down at the wreckage below, Lorne sighed with relief, satisfied that he'd well and truly kicked the wraith's ass. Taking one last smug look at the crashed ship, he turned his own ship around and sped for the gate.

"Where are we going?" Teyla asked, concerned.

"Back to the gate. We need to contact Atlantis. I've just complicated matters."

The jumper flew like a shot towards the gate, towards what Lorne thought would sure to be a good yelling at by Mckay.

-----

Sheppard and Weir finally came out from the cover of their tree and peered up nervously. Sheppard looked at Weir "you heard the big bang too, right?" he croaked. Weir nodded mutely, peering around her worriedly.

"Guess the guy found someone who didn't agree with his carnivorous behaviour" Sheppard smirked, then coughed, a funny gurgling coming with it.

-----

The rest of the rescue team stood back a little as Lorne dialled Atlantis, hoping that it would protect them somewhat from the loud talking to they were about to receive.

Finally, the last chevron locked and the gate exploded into its usual blue puddle. Lorne winced briefly and then activated his radio "Mckay, this is Lorne, come in."

A crackle and a moment later, Mckay came on the radio "what's happened? Have you found them?" he asked urgently.

"Well no" Lorne conceded "we've run into a small snag." The others winced themselves, preparing themselves for the tirade.

"What sort of snag?" Mckay's apprehension came clearly through over the radio, something he was not even trying to cover up.

"Well, we were forced to blow up a hostile. There's a good chance they know we're here." Lorne braced himself nervously.

"You what?!" Mckay's almost-screech cut through Lorne sharply and made him recoil slightly "This was supposed to be a sweep. How the hell did you mess it up?!"

Lorne stopped listening as Mckay carried on, holding his head as a growing headache built up. Now, the absence of his CO was now the least of his problems.


	12. Chapter 11: The Trek

_I'm sorry!! I know I said I'd update yesterday but I've been soooo busy!! I'm applying for university at the moment which is really stressful! Uni better be worth it! Anyways, the story starts wrapping up from here as there are only a few chapters left. Reviews are greatly loved and appreciated. Maybe I can make 30……please?_

**Chapter 11 – The Trek.**

Weir collided against a tree and pushed all of her weight against it. She felt Sheppard encouraging her to lower him to the ground. She reluctantly obeyed and pulled his weight off of her. His back leant against it and he looked up at her, his eyes narrowing as he struggled to focus on her.

Weir sighed and fell to the ground beside him "just a little rest" she relented "and then we're moving on." She looked out through the thinning trees at the mountains looming, barely a day's walk away. At the speed they were travelling, Weir knew they would be lucky if they got down to the stargate within a week and she wasn't sure if Sheppard could last that long.

Stretching her legs out, she turned to Sheppard and handed him the canteen. He took it shakily and struggled to get the lid open. Finally, he groaned in frustration and handed it back to Weir. She smiled gently, and unscrewed the cap, holding it up to his lips and allowing him to drink deeply.

Sheppard winced as he swallowed and pulled his head away slightly to indicate he had finished. After screwing the cap back on, Weir turned her attentions back to the mountains.

Sensing her anxiety, Sheppard opened his mouth to speak "Elizabeth" he murmured, his voice raspy and barely loud enough to hear. Weir clasped his hand gently as they had done so often in the last few days and gazed into his pain-struck eyes "you know as well as I do that I can't possibly make it over those mountains" his voice tailed off as he started coughing, trying desperately to draw in enough breath. When he finally came under control, he raised his eyebrows as if his point was already proved.

Weir shook her head, unable to believe he was trying to get her to leave again. Sheppard held up his good arm to hold off her rebuke "Elizabeth, I'm sorry; I know I can't do this."

He paused momentarily and Weir took the opportunity to start talking "John, I don't th…"

"I'm dying Elizabeth." Sheppard's short remark cut her to the quick and she flinched as the impact of the words hit her.

"John, I can't just leave you here even if… no, especially if you are…dying" she glared at him, hating him for making her say it.

Sheppard shook his head weakly "look at it this way" he rasped "I don't think I can make it over those mountains alive. But if you manage to make it, you can go back to Atlantis and go get help. You could send a jumper back for me" he looked around the clearing "a jumper should be able to land here. This trip will take us about a week the way we're going. It will only take you a day or two" he tailed off again as his voice failed him and he started coughing again.

Weir rubbed his back, but refused to meet his eyes. When the coughing fit finally subsided, he looked at her expectantly, waiting for her answer. At last she looked up and stared at him, their eyes meeting, hers filling up with tears.

"I can't. Please don't make me" she murmured, stroking her thumb over his hand.

Sheppard shook his head as vigorously as he could "please Elizabeth, this is the only way out of this. Just go."

Weir looked away towards the mountains in thought and silence reigned for a few minutes. Finally, it seemed Sheppard had made up her mind and she quietly set about preparing to leave.

Sheppard stayed silent as she sorted out her BDU vest and pulled out things he would need. Placing them beside him, she handed him their only canteen. He pushed it away as viciously as he could "no you need that more than I do."

"But John… what about you?" Weir asked.

"Don't worry about me; you'll be back in no time, okay?" Sheppard's unfocused eyes looked at her, emblazoned with belief and trust in her. She swallowed nervously but nodded to him, strengthened by his belief.

Finally she was ready, BDU vest clipped wrapped around her. She stood up and made to leave but she found herself having difficulty to start walking away.

At last, she closed her eyes momentarily, turned and collapsed next to Sheppard, throwing her arms around him and holding on as hard as she dared. Sheppard held on to her with his right arm and stroked her back comfortingly as a sob of distress escaped her lips.

Knowing that he may never see her again, Sheppard pulled out of her grasp and planted a weak, sloppy kiss on her forehead. He stayed there for a few moments and she leaned into him, holding onto the feel of his touch, shifting to rest their foreheads together, he breathed heavily and hoarsely whispered "be strong Elizabeth, get home" he started to gently push her away, encouraging her to get going.

Weir sniffed gently and picked herself up off of the ground, nodding to herself. She turned away and strode out of the clearing, turning back only to say "be safe, John" before walking quickly away, Sheppard watching her progress until she was out of sight.

Sheppard sighed and leaned into the tree, trying his best to ignore the growing pain that was becoming unbearable. Now he was alone and he could only hope that Weir got home and that help would soon be arriving.

-----

The shimmering blue of the wormhole shone through the valley as the rescue team continued their conversation with Atlantis.

"Look" Mckay's annoyed voice swam over the radio "we can't just sit here and debate this all day. We know the ship landed on the planet. So it stands to reason that Elizabeth and Sheppard are there as well."

Lorne was rubbing his head in frustration at the headache he was receiving. After 30 minutes of Mckay's voice, he was stretched to breaking point. The rest of the rescue team were sighing impatiently, the conversation also annoying them. Only Beckett still seemed not to be in a bad mood.

Lorne pounded the D.H.D and winced at the pain it caused "yes, Doctor Mckay, we know that. You have told us that before" Lorne replied sarcastically "but this is a fortress. It's like nothing we've ever challenged before. We need to think of a proper strategy before we go charging in there."

Beaten, Mckay hastily tried another tact "wait, what if they've escaped? I wouldn't put it past Sheppard. You should search for them with the jumper's sensors" his triumphant voice grated against Ronon's ears.

"Look Mckay we've already done that" Ronon growled "there's no sign of them and our sensors can't penetrate the forest near us. Also, in case you haven't been listening, we were forced to shoot down a dart. Now the wraith are getting suspicious about what's going on here, okay? We have to think this out."

Mckay muttered eligibly away from the mike. The group could hear the barely audible commiserations of Zelenka in the background. Bridging the two sides, Teyla calmly spoke up "Doctor Mckay, either way I am sure Doctor Weir and Colonel Sheppard are alright. The wraith will not harm them if they need something."

Mckay muttered again but confirmed his understanding before shutting down the gate. Teyla and Lorne breathed out and Ronon made a rude gesture towards the 'gate.

Lorne settled on the D.H.D. and looked at Ronon "so what are we going to do? Maybe Doctor Mckay's right, we should do another sweep."

Ronon sighed "I don't know. That fortress is pretty hard to escape from, I'm sure. And with Doctor Weir… I still think that our best bet's in the fortress."

Barely registering that Teyla had moved away and was staring up at the sky, Lorne continued his urgent debate with Ronon "okay, okay, suppose you're right. How can we possibly infiltrate a base like that?"

Ronon bit his lip thoughtfully "maybe we could…" he paused as he caught sight of Teyla's worried face and leaped up to join her. His face paled as he caught what Teyla was straining to hear.

A small insistent whine was developing to a roar as the sound grew closer. Sparing a glance at each other, Teyla and Ronon sprang into action, Teyla speeding to speak with Lorne and Ronon haring to get the SO's and Beckett moving.

"Major Lorne, there is a wraith dart on approach, we need to hide" Teyla shouted as she sped toward the jumper. Lorne turned and sprinted after her, slamming into the console in his haste to get into the pilot seat.

"We need to move" Lorne said shortly "if the wraith dart goes through the gate it could easily collide with us."

Teyla nodded nervously and shouted for Ronon to hurry up.

The wraith dart was now clearly audible to everyone and only added to the general haste. Beckett came sprinting around the corner followed quickly by the security force and Ronon bringing up the rear.

"Wraith dart is inbound!" Lorne yelled, shutting the rear hatch and activating the cloak "this is gonna be tricky. I don't think we can make it into open air, we're gonna have to branch off toward the forest, maybe we can find a place up in the mountains to land."

The dart roared into view above the valley and Lorne managed to take off just before the wormhole erupted out of the stargate. Lorne turned the jumper around and took flight in the opposite direction, narrowly avoiding colliding with the dart.

The jumper flew over the mountains and came to land on a small platform up on the mountainside. From their vantage point, they could see the huge fortress in the distance. Dozens of darts were circling the fortress, like birds waiting for their next meal.

Lorne sighed sadly, knowing that there was not much that could be done. "Okay" he said, turning to the group "any ideas?"

-----

Traipsing through the thinning forest, Weir kicked the undergrowth angrily as she quickly walked towards the slowly nearing mountains. She'd had to leave him behind. Even as she'd walked away, she'd known that she may never see him again. But she'd still left, because he'd wanted her to. Now she hadn't a clue what to do. Tripping over a log, she cursed herself for not paying attention and continued on, clutching the 9mm in her hand.

Weir walked on, watching the sun slowly lowering as the afternoon elapse. Just as she felt she could go no further, the forest opened up and Weir was forced to squint as the sunlight beamed down at her.

Now out of the forest, she could actually see how close she was to the mountain at the head of the valley and it gave her strength and a renewed sense of purpose. From the Intel she had received from Sheppard, there should be a pathway between the two mountains she was currently facing.

Sighing heavily, she observed her next challenge with growing dread. Looking back towards the place she had left Sheppard one last time; she turned back and headed out towards the mountains.

She walked on in silence, caution heightened now she had lost the cover of the forest. After half an hour the path began to slope upwards and before long, Weir was out of breath, sweaty and light-headed.

The afternoon sun pounded against her face as she climbed the rocky pathway, her feet stumbling as she struggled to keep her footing. Making her way up to a small crevice where she was going to allow herself a break, she grabbed hold of a small piece of rock to serve as a hand-hold. Pressing her weight onto the rock, it slit into pieces and made her lose her balance. Unable to find a hand or foothold anywhere, she went tumbling down the rough ground, until her roll was cut short by a large, sharp rock that hit her head and stopped her fall.

Fighting the urge to fall into blackness, Weir slowly and carefully picked herself up off of the ground, gingerly putting weight on each foot and checking herself over. She winced as she touched her forehead, feeling the warm wetness of her blood on her face, mixing with the mud and Sheppard's blood that was already there.

Ignoring the pain, she gently prodded her head, feeling the damage to her face. Concluding that that was the only injury she had sustained, barring a few good bruises, and that it did not feel serious, she decided to carry on walking, aware that Sheppard's time was running out.

To Weir now, every step was becoming more difficult and her head pounded with the beat of her heart, but she kept on, not stopping until she reached the highest point in the pathway. From here, she could see down to the valley floor and, although the stargate was not yet in sight, she knew it was there and that thought gave her hope as she started the descent down the path.

Without warning, the blue bolt of a stunner blast flew just wide of Weir and she dove for cover behind a boulder. Peering around it, she saw two wraith soldiers hurriedly approaching. Obviously she'd disturbed their guard posts. 'They must be there to protect the valley, stop people coming in or out' Weir thought, but quickly brushed it aside as she realised the more pressing concerns. Like how she was going to get out of this one, alive.

-----

Sheppard drifted in and out of consciousness, aided by the shooting pains he received as he struggled to take in enough breath.

When awake, he barely kept an eye on his surroundings. He knew the wraith rarely traversed the forest and comforted himself by thinking that if they were going to show up, they would've already done so.

Looking at where he last saw her, Sheppard wondered how she was faring on her own and quietly prayed for her safe return home. He wasn't fooling himself, he knew it was unlikely that he would make it back but he held on to a shred of hope and allowed himself the consolation that even if he did not make it back, his body would and he could be enabled to have a proper goodbye, to _her _and to the rest of Atlantis.

Suddenly, Sheppard was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of a twig cracking loudly, not too far from where he lay. Grateful that she had left him his binoculars, he squinted through them and cursed soundlessly as he saw three wraith soldiers prowling through the undergrowth, tracking the small signs of disturbance Sheppard and Weir had left as they had made their way through.

Deciding that he'd be damned if he went all this way to be fed on by a wraith, Sheppard hugged the tree for dear life as he pulled himself up on his good side, holding in the cry of pain that nearly escaped him. He swayed as he stood, his head swimming and making him feel violently sick. Face pale with sickness and the effort, Sheppard took one look in the wraith's direction before half-running, half-stumbling out of the clearing, dragging his near-useless leg behind him.

Swinging and collapsing from tree to tree, Sheppard made a wild, rough progression away from the wraith and the place where he had just been laying to die. Not giving up though, he kept on, requesting more adrenalin of his body to keep him going and feeling his point crumpling beneath him.

Eventually, Sheppard broke out of the trees into a large clearing. The small field was littered with rocks and appeared to Sheppard to be similar to the area they had camped in before. However, he didn't have long to think about the beauty of the area as the wraith came speeding out of the trees, firing their stunners with as much ferocity as he could muster. Sheppard's hand instinctively went for his gun, before realising that he had given it to Weir to keep her protected. Knowing the irony of the situation, he thought that she probably wasn't using it. Instead he flew behind a boulder, grunting as he landed on the hard ground and hopelessly considering his options.

There weren't many and as he flashed them past his eyes, he realised there was only one option he would allow himself to take. He couldn't surrender. The only thing he could do was fight. He hoped to god that the god send of a drug was still working and steeled himself for a fight he most certainly couldn't win.

Breathing deeply and flooding his body with adrenaline, he made his choice and leapt into action.

-----

The tension in the jumper was getting unbearable as no-one could think of anything that would help in the rescue attempt. Everyone had turned down Ronon's idea of charging in and risking everything and Lorne's suggestion of a covert search and rescue seemed impossible.

It was Teyla who heard it first, removed from the discussions she had been paying attention to the fortress in the distance when she felt the nearby sense of wraith. Then, paying attention to that area, she perceived a familiar sound that was both music and worry to her ears.

Gunfire.

Barking for the others to be silent, she closed her eyes and listened to the sounds, opening them when Ronon growled ferociously "wraith."

Teyla nodded, "they are here, on the mountainside, how is that possible?"

"Who are lass?" Beckett asked, thoroughly confused.

"Colonel Sheppard and Doctor Weir" seeing the sceptical, concerned looks on their faces she turned to Ronon imploringly "listen" she urged.

Ronon closed his eyes and bought himself closer to the windscreen, listening carefully. Finally, he jerked sharply away and nodded gruffly "gunfire. Teyla's right, they're on the mountain."

Lorne snapped into action at once, opening the rear hatch and grabbing his P90 "how far?"

"Not far at all" Teyla gasped, rushing to follow Lorne's actions "but I feel two wraith there as well. We need to hurry."

Instructing Beckett and Walman to remain behind with the jumper, Lorne rushed out of the jumper, Teyla, Ronon and Magson close behind. Following the increasing sounds of fire and Teyla's senses, the group sped over the rough terrain, towards their leaders and the rescue they had so desperately wanted to achieve.

-----

Weir was at a loss. After firing a few warning shots at them, the wraith did not even seem to be faltering. Their blasts were getting even closer, and a small amount of shots were making it around the boulder, making contact with their intended target. Thankful for the drug still in her system, Weir decided that to save not only herself but Sheppard she'd have to swallow her fear and take action. Breathing heavily, she braced herself before swinging out partially from behind the boulder and firing repeatedly at the nearest Wraith. It moaned in pain as the bullets pierced its skin and after several hits, it went down, unmoving.

Turning to the second wraith who had paused momentarily, the stunner lying at its side, she prepared to unload the bullets on it too. After two bullets that pierced its armour, however, the cartridge ejected and Weir realised with horror that she was out of ammo. The wraith, realising this too, raised its stunner again and resumed its unrelenting attack. Quick as she could, Weir pulled herself back behind the boulder, praying for an answer.

She got it. Behind the wraith, the sounds of automatic gunfire ripped the air, followed by the yells and thud of the wraith as it went down. Hardly daring to believe it, she closed her eyes, hearing a thunder of footsteps approaching her.

"Colonel Sheppard? Doctor Weir?" the worry lacing Teyla's voice made Weir's eyes snap open and she quickly stood up, alerting them to her presence. Lorne and Magson raised their weapons at the sign of movement but quickly lowered them again as they realised who it was.

"Doctor Weir" Lorne's voice was full of relief as he observed her, checking she was alright. His face lingered on the blood coating his face and clothes, paling as he wondered what had caused them.

Ronon was observing the platform, frowning as he looked around "where's Sheppard" he asked, looking around as if expecting Sheppard to appear at any moment.

The others turned to look at Weir, worry deepening as they saw the sad, hesitant look on her face.

Teyla spoke up first "Is he…? Did he…?"

Weir shook her head fiercely, not allowing the dreaded word to be spoken again. Her voice cracking, she answered to the silent audience "no… no, he's still alive" she left out the 'I hope' that flashed through her mind "but I had to leave him. He couldn't make it over the mountains to get to the 'gate. Wait… do you have a jumper with you?" she peered around frantically, and the group nodded anxiously.

"Where did you leave him?" Ronon asked, already moving back the way they had come.

"In the forest, we felt it would be safer if he stayed there" again she left out the fact that he probably couldn't have moved much if he'd wanted to.

However the unspoken seemed to communicate with the group and they led the way quickly back to the jumper, the group asking nervously what was going on and getting minimal, shaky responses.

The jumper came flooding into existence as the cloak was removed and Beckett came flying out of the jumper at the first sight of blood. Weir pushed him away as he started to fuss, preferring to continue the walk into the jumper.

Once inside, Lorne immediately took off heading quickly over to the forest. Beckett seemed to be having a hard time restraining himself, and clearly confused, he started asking hurried questions, trying to gleam information from her.

"So, lass what have you done to yourself?" he asked cheerily, trying to touch the contusion on her head and getting his hand slapped away.

"It's nothing Carson, I just… let's just say I… fell down the mountain" she shrugged at the absurdity of it and turned her attention back to the cockpit.

"And where is Colonel Sheppard?" Beckett pushed, clearly concerned about Sheppard's lack of presence.

"I had to leave him Carson, he couldn't…" Weir tailed off, and nodded back toward the mountains. The message got through and he nodded mutely.

After a moment of silence, he indicated her clothes "not yours?" he asked, subliminally asking the Colonel's condition.

"No" she replied softly, subliminally sending her own message back "none of it Carson"

Beckett gulped gently and reached over to bring up the HUD "alright, lass. Where exactly was the place where he stayed?"

Weir quickly made some scale calculations in her head and then nervously pointed to an area just inside the forest. From the map, it looked so much smaller than she had experienced.

Lorne nodded his understanding at where she was pointing and started to descend "you or the Colonel had the right idea" he said "there's just enough space for a jumper to land."

The trees whipped around and leaves were blown everywhere as the jumper lowered to the ground too fast. The jumper landed with a heavy jolt and the group waited with bated breath for the dust and leaves to clear and settle so they could see out of the windscreen. Weir nervously wondered how the jumper's landing had affected Sheppard and cautiously peered out of the windscreen for the tell-tale figure of her 2IC. Even after the clearing had returned to its previous state, the body of Sheppard was still not revealing itself to her eyes. Looking around with growing concern and panic, she noticed the pile of supplies she had left behind for him, right next to where he was supposed to be lying. The groups' eyes bore into hers, concern and question rising quickly in theirs and she returned their worried looks with her own.

With a sickening jolt she realised that the Colonel was gone and she had no idea how to find him.


	13. Chapter 12: Running out of time

_Hello, I'm glad that so many of you liked the last chapter! I know it got a bit angsty but that's the best part!! All that tension…Two chapters left after this on, so keep reviewing till then!!_

**Chapter 12 – Running out of time.**

Weir scanned frantically for any signs of Sheppard, panicking more and more as she continually came up with nothing. Beside her, Major Lorne reached over and patted her shoulder comfortingly, not tearing his eyes away from the screen which was searching for life signs.

Beckett came up behind her and gently whispered "Are you sure this was where you left him?" Weir whipped around and glared at him.

"What are you implying Carson?" She growled, her resolve finally snapping.

Beckett backed away slightly. "N...Nothing Elizabeth, I'm just saying that if it is then one of two things has happened."

Ronon nodded, "Either he has managed to move from this clearing, which is highly unlikely, or he has been taken by something, which is very likely." Beckett and Lorne glared at him, and he shrugged impassively.

Teyla joined them from the rear section, "I do not believe that is helping Ronon. Perhaps you should keep your eyes trained on the clearing and see if there are any tracks?" She raised her eyebrows suggestively and nudged him in the back to get him moving.

As both Ronon and Teyla scanned the area, Weir turned her head in grief and buried her head in Beckett's shoulder. "Not this," she whimpered, "not all this way just for this." She began to sob gently and Beckett stroked her back, biting his lip nervously and pleading.

"There." Ronon exclaimed shortly.

Beckett and Weir whipped around sharply, Weir brushing the water from around her eyes, and sent questioning looks at Ronon. Teyla looked at where Ronon was peering and a smile spread over her lips. "You're right Ronon. They do appear to be human tracks."

Ronon frowned, noticing the small patches of red on the ground. "He doesn't look in the best of shapes. And he isn't alone, judging by the scorch marks on some of those plants."

"Wraith." Weir breathed. Without hesitation, she grabbed a P90 from the rear compartment and made to leave the puddle jumper.

"And where do we think we're going lassie?" Beckett queried, raising a disapproving eyebrow.

Weir sighed and turned around, the hand holding the weapon shaking slightly as she realised just what she was doing. "Look, considering how he was when I left, he doesn't have that much time. _And_" she raised her voice as they sent worried looks at each other, forcing their attention back on her, "if the wraith are after him, he's probably got even less time. Everyone needs to go, and I don't think you are going to spare someone to keep an eye on me here." She glared at them, her authority showing through and they relented.

As they shouldered their P90's, Lorne took control of the group. "Right, I'll take point, Ronon you're on our six. The rest of you, stay in the middle and keep your eyes open. Walman stay with the jumper and radio us if there are any problems."

"Yes sir." Walman snapped to attention and set his radio to all frequencies, snapping his P90 to a defensible position. He nodded curtly and led the way out of the jumper, his eyes darting warily.

"Ready?" Lorne asked. The group nodded, snapping the safety off of their weapons and Lorne nodded shortly. "Okay, everyone, move out."

The group hurried out of the Jumper in a long line, with Weir and Beckett surrounded by the SF's. They rushed to reach the small area. Determined to find Sheppard alive, Weir refused to allow her fearful thoughts to permeate her head, and looking across at the others, she could tell they were trying to do the same.

Reaching the enclosed space, Ronon crouched down and peered at Sheppard's tracks. Teyla sneaked over to inspect the destroyed the plant life, whilst the rest of the group panned out to lay down fire if need be.

Weir bit her lip nervously. 'We're taking too long. He's not going to make it.' Shaking her head to stop the tears from coming, she turned and scanned the area. Listening desperately quietly, she strained her hearing to find Sheppard.

Just as she was about to give up in despair, her ears picked up a faint sound in the distance. Believing she had imagined it, she listened again, and, sure enough, there was the sound again. Turning in surprise, she stared at the group. Ronon, Teyla and Lorne had also picked up the sound and were all straining to find its location.

"What is that?" she whispered urgently, hoping for the right answer.

Ronon cocked his head to the ground gently. "It appears to be someone yelling. I think they're in trouble."

Weir's hopeful face drained of all colour as she gently whispered "John." She turned to the others. "The wraith must have found him. It can't be anyone else. Ronon, where is he? We have to go to him."

Teyla narrowed her eyes gently and peered in the area of the sound. "I believe it is this way." She stated firmly, turning to Ronon, who nodded curtly.

"Okay. Everyone make sure the safety's off." Lorne ordered checking his P90. Everyone looked down at their weapons. "Watch our friendlies and aim for the wraith. Weir, Beckett, only shoot in defence, we don't want you to hit Colonel Sheppard."

Weir and Beckett nodded nervously to Lorne and followed quickly as he and Teyla led the way, Ronon and the SF on their six.

They jogged quickly through the undergrowth, pausing now and then for Teyla to catch the sounds that were growing louder by the minute. Suddenly, the forest thinned and they were led out into a small stretch of grass surrounded by coarse bushes and plants.

Far across the field, they could hear the sounds of stunner fire, and yelling. Peering across as they ran, Weir could see Sheppard fighting hand to hand with three wraiths, one of which was still trying to fire with a stunner. Each hit seemed to still have little effect on Sheppard indicating that the drug had not yet worn off. Even from the distance, Weir could tell Sheppard was losing, both the fight and the will to stay conscious. Panicking slightly as Sheppard went down from a nasty blow to the head, she felt herself picking up speed as she raced to help him, noticing lightly that the others had also picked up the pace.

Reaching a good distance, the group reached a group of bushes that could stand as cover. Lorne turned around to the group. "Okay." He muttered urgently. "Teyla, Ronon, you're with me. Magson, watch our six. Doctors, you try to get to Sheppard whilst we take care of the wraith. Any questions?"

The group nodded quickly, noticing that Sheppard was finding it hard to get up after a blow to the stomach.

"Go!" yelled Lorne, bolting out of their cover. Teyla and Ronon sprinted quickly behind him, raising their P90's ready to fire. As the three ran full pelt toward them, the wraith turned their attentions away from the weak Sheppard and raised their stunners.

"Open fire!" Lorne yelled, assessing that Sheppard was in no danger of getting hit. Ronon and Teyla followed orders quickly, and two of the wraith were immediately hit by their automatic gunfire. One of the wraiths went down and the other two scattered, heading toward the cover they had just abandoned.

Teyla quickly ran over to the downed wraith and emptied her gun into it, her eyes glinting with anger. Ronon and Lorne swung around and unleashed their gunfire on the retreating wraiths. "Doctor Weir, Doctor Beckett, move!" Lorne yelled, sprinting with Teyla and Ronon to reach the wraiths that were slowing slightly due to their wounds. Weir and Beckett sped away from their hiding place toward Sheppard, who was trying his best to push himself up without his arms collapsing beneath him.

Weir rushed to Sheppard's side and let him collapse into her. He was trembling violently and his eyes gazed up at her, slightly unfocused, and slurred, "sorry, 'lizbeth. Coont' stay." He shook his head weakly to emphasise his point. "Di' ya get um?" he asked softly, trying to crane his head to look toward the sounds of the commotion.

Weir held his head in place to stop him moving and looked herself at Lorne and Ronon checking on the dead wraith. She gently stroked his face, "yes, John. We got them."

Sheppard nodded sloppily, and made to turn his head. Helping him lay on his side, he coughed ferociously, flecks of blood spilling out of his mouth. Beckett blanched worriedly at the sight and knelt down by Sheppard's side.

"Tha's good." He closed his eyes briefly and struggled to reopen them, "Tha's good." He closed his eyes again, but this time didn't open them.

"John." Weir said sharply, "stay awake. You have to stay awake John, okay." She tapped his face gently to emphasise her point, and Sheppard weakly opened his eyes again. Clasping his hand firmly, Weir moved over and allowed Beckett to get to work. Looking down at their entwined hands, she was shocked at how weak his grip was compared to all the times they had held each other's hand before.

Beckett stared over at Lorne who was patrolling the edge of the forest for more wraith. "It's not safe to leave yet, I'm going to have to start treating him here." He peered distastefully at the ground, "not the best conditions." He began to strip Sheppard's jacket off to inspect his wounds and moaned in horror.

Teyla ran gently over, carrying a backboard stretcher that she had to have run back and get from the jumper. Beckett nodded gratefully at her, and quickly returned his attention to Sheppard who was in turn talking weakly with Weir. Teyla paused to notice the gripped hands and the strength of their eye contact before kneeling down to help Beckett.

Sheppard sighed weakly, seemingly beyond the pain of his injuries as he showed no reaction to Beckett's prodding and poking. Worried about his head, Weir gently placed her hand against his head and recoiled sharply. "Carson, he's burning up." She looked over at Beckett, who returned her gaze worriedly, "How's he looking?"

Teyla held Sheppard's head to the side as he spluttered up blood. Beckett edged over to Weir, fear and worry etched every line in his face. "I don't know lass, it's everything you said it would be but I still can't believe what he's been through, is still going through."

As Teyla wiped the edges of Sheppard's mouth for him, Ronon and Lorne came back from their scouts. "Okay, all clear!" Lorne yelled, eliciting a wince from Sheppard as the sound hurt his head. Lorne apologised gently and, now closer, said "We're all clear. There are no more wraith in the immediate area. We can get him out of here with no trouble."

This got a sigh of relief from Weir and Beckett. This is what they had been forced to wait for whilst Sheppard lay on the ground.

At this, Sheppard tried valiantly to push himself off the ground, his energy almost depleted, but Weir and Beckett both put their hands on his shoulders to stop him. Sheppard looked up at them, squinting to try and get them in focus; slowly he fell back down, his eyes rolling into his head as he slipped away.

Weir panicked, and collapsed by his side, "John, John, wake up. Please wake up." She tried tapping his face again, but no matter how hard she tried, he wouldn't respond.

Beckett beckoned for the back board frantically and Teyla rushed to them, the board clutched firmly in her grasp. "Come lass, quickly. There's not much I can do for him here. We have to get Sheppard to the infirmary if we have any hope of saving him." As he spoke he gently raised Sheppard's side and placed it on top of the board.

Weir was still valiantly trying to make Sheppard respond, but paused when Beckett lifted up Sheppard's other side and indicated for the board to be slid under him. She watched the rushed proceedings before returning her thoughts back to the barely breathing Colonel.

As Ronon and Lorne hurriedly secured Sheppard to the board, Beckett repacked his med kit and pulled a bloodied hand through his hair. "Are we all set then?" he questioned, his false cheeriness overshadowed by the Colonels laboured breathing that could now clearly be heard. Beckett spared a glance at Sheppard's chest and sighed, his eyes downcast momentarily. Lorne and Ronon took each end of the stretcher and nodded confidently, "Alright, let's go. Quickly now."

The group haphazardly jogged toward the jumper, Teyla and Magson at the head with their P90's still raised. Every now and then the stretcher would jolt, and the sound of Sheppard's breathing hitched, only to return a few seconds later weaker than before. As they ran, Lorne spared a hand off the stretcher to activate his radio and inform Walman to start the pre-flight for their return.

Weir ran along side the stretcher, her P90 lying forgotten at her side as she held tight on to Sheppard's hand. She was concerned over how cold he was quickly becoming. Thoughts of their ordeal flashed through her mind and she futilely tried to banish them to the back of her mind.

The forest came upon them quickly and as they sped through the cool undergrowth and caught sight of the jumper, they spared glances at Sheppard and allowed themselves to hope when they realised that he was still hanging on to his life.

Walman was standing guard at the rear hatch of the jumper and as Lorne and Ronon sped past him, he stared with horror at the sight of his CO.

Settling the stretcher on the ground, Lorne jumped up and sprinted to the pilot seat. Once he noted that everyone was inside the jumper, he quickly closed the rear hatch and took off automatically.

Beckett was rushing around the rear compartment of the jumper, pulling out the ship's medical supplies and sighing heavily. As he returned to Sheppard with his feeble supplies, he spoke to Weir without glancing up. "When we get back, Lass, we're going to have to talk about the medical proficiencies of the Puddle Jumpers."

Weir nodded briefly, not willing herself to say a word as she took an oxygen mask from Beckett and placed it over Sheppard's face, praying it would help take the strain off of his broken lungs.

The Jumper broke out of the forest canopy and returned to the sunlight. Now, out of the protection of the trees, heavy drops of rain started to pound against the Jumper's windscreen and Lorne was forced to turn to the Head-Up Display to find out his way to the 'gate. _'God, how this planet likes to rain'_ Weir thought briefly, shaking her head.

Walman stared at the HUD, and sighed in relief, "It's alright, looks clear" he said turning back to the group in the rear compartment with a small smile, "at least we won't have wraith to contend with getting back."

Teyla nodded solemnly, "that is a small piece of comfort, knowing we can get him back in time."

Ronon took out his gun and inspected it angrily, "well, I for one want to give the wraith something to think about." He growled, staring back at his leader in the rear compartment. Teyla gently laid an arm on Ronon's shoulder and shook her head gently to stop his outburst.

Weir smiled weakly, "I'm sure John would appreciate that sentiment." Ronon nodded brusquely and glared out of the window, clearly wanting to remain in his bad mood. Teyla shook her head lovingly at his behaviour and shrugged to the others.

Beckett spoke up, not turning away from his patient "I don't think that will help in the slightest, Ronon, I've already got my hands full with one patient, let alone with you two." He shook his head angrily, "don't go and do anything stupid that could hurt Sheppard even more."

Weir looked away from Sheppard momentarily and stared at Beckett. Not liking his tone of voice, she asked fearfully "How's he looking?"

Beckett shook his head wearily. "I don't know lass. He's hanging in there, but there's little I can do to help him here. We were on a search and rescue not a medical retrieval. I was only here just in case, I should have bought more supplies." Beckett's forlorn look in his eyes scared Weir more than anything else had.

Suddenly, the rain appeared to get lighter as Lorne set the Jumper to descend. He turned back to look at them briefly, "We're almost there, I'm going to open the gate now just in case the wraith do come back and we'll be in radio range in less than thirty seconds."

He nodded to Walman who quickly dialled the address of Atlantis. Teyla pulled out her GDO and waited for the tell-tale blue to appear in the valley they were above.

A crackle came over the radio to confirm that the shield was lowered and Lorne nodded to Teyla, his face concentrated as he sped toward the gate.

"Atlantis, this is Teyla. We have wounded on board…" She faltered, not knowing what else to say, and Beckett took over, raising his voice to be heard by the radio. "Atlantis this is Doctor Beckett, we are incoming with a seriously injured patient. Send a code red to the medical staff and have them send up a medical team to the jumper bay… fully equipped!" he barked.

Lorne relayed the order for confirmation, and continued to pick up speed. Now close to their goal, the jumper erupted into a flurry of activity. Walman and Magson took an inventory of weapons and ammo to make sure they did not leave anything behind on the enemy world, Teyla and Ronon, who was still scowling, set about clearing the rear compartment of the mess that Beckett had caused to allow a gurney up the ramp of the jumper. Weir and Beckett returned their attention to Sheppard, Beckett's hand reaching for his neck. Finding the weak pulse still holding on, he carefully untied him from the back board and rechecked the tight bandages he had applied as immobilizers all over his body. Weir held on to Sheppard's hand fervently and continually checked his breathing and adjusted his oxygen mask frequently, her hands shaking violently over his bruised and bloodied face.

The blue of the gate came flooding through the cockpit, illuminating everything in the jumper. The group waited with bated breath as Lorne gently guided the jumper toward the 'gate. As the ship passed into the wormhole, Elizabeth held in a breath and clasped all the more to Sheppard, closing her eyes fearfully.

After a few moments she allowed herself to carefully pry her eyes open as the sound of the 'gate room ceiling opening up came to ears. Sure enough, her fears were unfounded and a moment later the jumper came to rest on the bay floor.

As the rear hatch was quickly lowered, a commotion of sound reached the assembled groups ears, and all manner of movement came quickly into the jumper. The medical team came running in, a gurney rattling close behind.

Ronon and Teyla jumped back into the cockpit to make room for the medical team and Weir edged to the corner without letting go of Sheppard's hand.

The medical team rushed about them, while Beckett barked orders and sought to stabilise the colonel. The nurses stripped Sheppard of his jacket and applied a heart monitor. Sheppard's heartbeat came in slow, weak beats and seemed to be getting unstable quickly.

After Beckett had inserted a ventilator to breath for him, as he was not coping himself, he turned toward Sheppard's leg; afraid that he had broken an artery. Finding that the artery had remained intact, he sighed with relief and gazed at the heart monitor wearily. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen" he barked sharply, "let's get Sheppard to the O.R. Nurse, keep an eye on Colonel Sheppard's heart rate and inform me if there is any significant deterioration in his condition."

The medical team nodded briefly and rushed to place Sheppard on the gurney and sped out of the jumper. Beckett and the group jogged after the fast retreating medical team. Weir slowed gently as Mckay came speeding around the corner, Zelenka fast at his heels. Trusting that Beckett and the others would apprise her when she got to the infirmary; she came to a stop and waited for Mckay and Zelenka to catch up.

"Elizabeth!" he spluttered, as soon as he caught sight of her face "I don't think you should be walking around. No offence, but you don't look great. In fact," he continued, oblivious to Zelenka's glare at his lack of tact "you look like you had a run-in with… something nasty." He tailed off, shrugging lamely.

Weir smiled weakly, eliciting a similar response from Zelenka who was looking at Weir's head sympathetically. "Well, perhaps you and Dr. Zelenka can accompany me to the infirmary" she looked at Mckay pointedly and he slowly realised what she meant.

"Oh! Colonel Sheppard, how is he?" His worried face became quite pale and drawn as he saw Weir bite her lips nervously and avert her eyes. "How bad?"

"We're not sure. He's on his way to the O.R now. Let's just say it isn't looking too good." She sniffed gently and wiped her bloodied hands across her face to remove her tears, leaving a red smear behind.

Mckay looked evermore scared as he held his broken arm toward the infirmary. "Lead the way" he whimpered worriedly.

Weir gave a silent nod of thanks and hurried toward the infirmary, Mckay and Zelenka close behind.

The doors breezed open as Weir flew in, almost colliding with Lorne who was waiting impatiently at the doors to the O.R.

"Oh, I'm sorry major." Weir breathed. She peered through the small windows in the doors to the operating room "any news?"

Teyla shook her head sadly "Doctor Beckett is not allowing anyone else to perform the surgery. None of the nurses can apprise us on the situation either."

Ronon growled angrily and punched the wall next to him. The group winced as he cursed at the pain.

Mckay edged over to Teyla and started to talk to her in hush tones, pointing to the O.R. room in frustration.

"Um…doctor Weir?" a small, timid voice appeared in the infirmary, causing the group to spin round to look at the intrusion.

A young, tiny nurse smiled at Weir weakly and wringed her hands tightly. "Doctor Beckett asked that I take a look at you." She gestured towards a secluded bed at the far end of the infirmary.

"Of course Nurse Ashby" Weir warmly replied following her over to the bed. Ashby smiled appreciatively at the mention of her name. She patted the bed gently and Weir settled herself gently whilst Ashby busied herself with her equipment.

"Okay, doctor let's have a look at you." Nurse Ashby chirped, peering at Weir's filthy face. Weir smiled embarrassedly and accepted a warm, wet cloth from the cheerful nurse. Pulling the cloth across her face, she blanched gently as the cloth came away with a mixture of mud and blood. Not knowing if it was hers or Sheppard's, she pushed the cloth back towards Nurse Ashby and closed her eyes momentarily.

"It's alright doctor Weir" the nurse soothed "I'll give you a quick once over and you can let Doctor Beckett do a proper check-up when he's cleaned Colonel Sheppard up. I don't think there's anything serious to be dealt with ma'am and I would like Doctor Beckett to have a look at the contusion on your head anyway."

Weir nodded gratefully and took off her filthy jacket. Lifting up her shirt, Nurse Ashby tutted and sighed sympathetically as she observed the bruises on her ribcage. After gingerly prodding them, she concluded that there were no broken ribs and she gently applied some padding to them to stop them hurting. Finally she checked over her arms and legs to make sure there was no damage. Peering through the dirt and mud, she could not see any lacerations and looked up with a small smile.

"Nothing there that a good bath and rest won't cure" the young nurse confirmed, and moved to allow Weir to leave the bed "make sure you let Beckett check you over properly after he comes back from the O.R." she nodded and turned away to leave.

"Um… is there any news from the Operating room?" she asked, turning the distasteful and too frequently used words that she always seemed to be saying.

"All I know is that Doctor Beckett's optimistic about his chances." Nurse Ashby sent a commiserating look at her and walked out of the infirmary.

Weir sighed heavily, knowing that the nurse was reluctant to tell her the truth and decided to let the nurse go without a fight.

Weir waited a few moments before following in the nurse's footsteps out into the main area of the infirmary. Scanning the room briefly, she noticed that Lorne and Zelenka had left, obviously called on errands. Wondering briefly who was looking after the city, she looked over at the clock on the wall. It read 11:00pm, meaning the night shift staff was running the city.

Her relief was short-lived when she realised that Sheppard's team members still had the same concerned looks on their faces that they had when she left with the nurse.

"I take it there's been no news" she asked softly.

Mckay and Ronon glared at each other darkly and turned away without saying a word. Teyla shook her head half-heartedly at Weir and remained silent as well. Weir could feel their concern and fear radiating from them and nodded her understanding.

"Okay, so I guess we need to wait" she said sadly and nodded them over to the small waiting area.

-----

Half an hour later, there still seemed to be no news concerning the Colonel and the tense atmosphere was almost too hard to bear. Ronon and Mckay had already started snapping at each other and even the women's attitudes had begun to get strained.

Just as Ronon sent a growling threat to Mckay over his personal space, the group heard the sound of doors opening at the end of the infirmary. Weir rushed out, Sheppard's team-mates hot on her heels and came into view of Beckett as he pulled off his bloodied apron and surgical gloves and threw them into the disposal bin.

The group came right up to him, and stared at him worriedly as they waited for him to speak. Finally as the group was caught up in a nervous silence, Weir decided to bite the bullet and hesitantly opened her mouth,

"Carson, how is he?"


	14. Chapter 13: An uncertain future

_I'm really sorry!!! My dad was off this week so I couldn't go on the internet. But he's on holiday now so I'll post the last chapter tomorrow!!_

**Chapter 13 – An Uncertain Future.**

Dr. Beckett passed a weary hand through his hair "Aye. It was touch and go for a while but the Colonel managed to pull through the surgery. He gave us quite a few scares but he's hanging in there" Beckett shook his head at Sheppard's living will.

Hearing the groups collected sigh of relief and murmurs of "thank god" and "that's good", Beckett held his hands up to get their attention.

"I know, its great news, but you have to understand he's far from being out of the woods." He laughed awkwardly at his poor choice of words and shook his head again. Weir gave him a small sad smile. "Sorry. What I mean to say is, he's still got a lot of healing to do and it's still not 100 that's he's gonna make it."

Weir's head snapped up in alarm and Teyla placed an arm on her shoulder to comfort her. Mckay went stark white. "What? Yo…you mean Sheppard might not pull through?" Mckay locked eyes with Beckett, his look pleading and scared.

The room was silent for a few minutes as the group tried desperately to find the answer to Mckay's question.

It was Ronon who finally spoke up first, his voice and opinions a welcome break from the desolate silence. "I'm sure that he won't give in that easily Mckay. You shouldn't underestimate him." The others looked at him gratefully. "By the time you've had an opportunity to think about it, he'll be up, around and bugging you again."

Weir gave a sudden gasp of surprise. The other members of the group looked at her, shocked, and she smiled self-consciously at them.

Mckay cleared his throat, and frowned questioningly at her. In response, she shrugged and murmured, "Um…It's just something that happened on the planet. You know how Sheppard is about bugs." They all exchanged knowing smiles. "I guess Sheppard should tell you…when he's better."

Beckett, Ronon and Teyla nodded in agreement and started to disband, but Mckay whined, "I wanna know what happened. Did he see a bug and scream? Why won't you tell me?"

Ronon walked over to Mckay and pushed his head with his fist, and then started to move him out of the infirmary. "It's just a story you have to wait for Mckay. Come on, I'm wired. How 'bout a run round Atlantis, you could do with some exercise."

Mckay opened his mouth to protest but it was clamped shut by Ronon's hand as he pulled him out of the infirmary. Ronon stuck his head back in. "You comin' Teyla?"

Teyla looked over to the operating room where Sheppard still resided and then looked at Beckett. "You will notify us if there is any change, good or bad?" She asked, concerned. It did not escape Weir's notice that both Mckay and Ronon had re-entered the infirmary to hear the answer.

"Aye, lass, of course I will." Beckett smiled and tapped his earpiece. "Don't worry, I'll keep you apprised." Teyla nodded her thanks and left after Mckay and Ronon. "And make sure you don't kill Rodney with this exercise, I've got enough on my plate as it is." He yelled after their departing backs.

Smiling and chuckling to himself, he walked back into the infirmary and over to Weir's bed. His laughter was abruptly cut short when he saw the serious, sombre expression on her face. She looked up at him, her defences finally crumbling, and a tear fell down her face.

"I felt so sure we'd lost him this time." She mumbled as Beckett reached over and embraced her with a hug. "I honestly don't know if I'd be able to cope if John isn't by my side on this expedition."

"Hey, lass, it's alright." Beckett soothed. "You two have both fought a lot in the last while, you should relax a bit. Sheppard is always fighting for what he believes in. He constantly fights to protect us from danger and threats. He's a strong-willed person and you know he will fight this battle just like the others." Weir nodded and smiled, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand.

"There's a good girl." Said Beckett kindly. "Now, as I understand it, Nurse Ashby wanted me to look at the large bruise and abrasion on your forehead." He said, smiling at the enormous purple bruise swelling around a cut near her eye. "I hear you 'fell down a mountain'?" He shot her an incredulous look as he repeated what she had said on the mountainside and Weir laughed as she tried to explain.

"You saw that the gate was in a valley. I had to get up to the gate, and I tripped and hit my head." She tried to sound casual but her face betrayed by flushing in embarrassment. "Sounds stupid, I know."

Beckett smiled again, invoking the same from Weir. He finished examining the wound and applied a dressing to it to prevent it from opening. He gave her a curt nod and turned to look at the Operating Room doors. His face clouded with worry for a moment before he turned back to Weir, a bright smile on his face.

"Well, you've got away quite lucky this time, it's clean and you don't have a concussion. You do, however, look extremely tired, so I suggest that you go take a bath and get some sleep."

Weir opened her mouth to argue, but Beckett interrupted. "I know you want to wait around to check on John, but by the time you've had a bath and a few hours of shut-eye, we'll have just about settled Colonel Sheppard into the intensive care unit. So…go get some rest and I'll give you a call when you can come and see him. O.k.?"

"Yes, doctor." Weir sighed emphatically and she rose from the bed and walked to the end of the infirmary. As she walked out, she turned to Beckett with a smile and said "thanks Carson."

Beckett understood what weir was trying to say and gave an encouraging nod before turning back to the operating room. Weir smiled softly to herself, turning away and walking tiredly to her quarters.

Weir picked up her coffee and sighed. Her body was screaming for sleep but she was too afraid of what she would see when she closed her eyes. Standing up and stretching, she turned to the clock. It read 00:40. Sighing heavily, she reached over and activated her earpiece. "Mckay, this is Weir, are you awake?" She nervously twiddled her fingers as she waited for his response.

"Yeah…uh, yeah I'm here." He said quickly, his fatigue clearly showing in his voice.

"Shouldn't you be getting some sleep, Rodney? We've all had a long week." Weir was aware that Mckay was more worried than anyone whenever Sheppard got hurt. Until Sheppard was back to his normal self, she knew he would not get much sleep.

"Ah, well, I could say the same to you doctor." Mckay slyly replied. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Uh, yes actually. I was wondering if you had heard from Carson at all." Weir hoped that Beckett had just left her alone so she could get some sleep.

Mckay was silent for a few moments. Weir was about to speak when he cleared his throat and muttered, "No. Sorry Elizabeth, but he hasn't contacted any of us."

"Any of us?" Weir questioned.

"Uh…yeah. Me, Ronon and Teyla kinda stayed together in the mess hall. We found that we needed the company. We didn't want to disturb you just in case you had managed to get some sleep."

Weir found herself smiling in spite of her fatigue. "Thanks Rodney. Carson said he'd call when the Colonel was settled. Do…do you think something has happened?" Weir quailed into silence.

The silence lengthened between them. In the background, Weir could hear Ronon saying "Say something Mckay, don't make her feel bad." She smiled at the friendship that had grown between all of them in such a short time, especially in Ronon's case.

Mckay snapped something intelligible back to Ronon before returning to Weir's conversation. "I'm sure that he's fine. They're probably just taking a long time to make him extra comfy." He attempted a lame, cheery tone which didn't convince Weir at all. Nevertheless, she still smiled at his attempts.

Not wishing to worry Mckay any more, she went along with him. "No, you're right. I guess Carson will give me a call soon. Weir out."

Turning again to her alarm clock, the time now read 00:52, almost an hour and a half after Beckett had come out of the operating room. Wringing her hands in frustration, she turned her attention back to her coffee, trying to clear the worries out of her head. Reaching over to grab her data pad, she read the first report on the list. It was Colonel Sheppard's preliminary input on Lorne's report on the mission to Davaros, which he'd written on first contact with the Davarians Sighing heavily, she commiserated herself to the fact that Sheppard would lay on her mind until she went to see him.

Walking quickly through the corridors of Atlantis, she acknowledged passers-by briefly and didn't stop until she reached the infirmary doors. Knowing Beckett would not like her to be there without any sleep; she looked in carefully and gently walked over to the intensive care unit. Just as she reached the doors, she almost walked headlong into Beckett.

"Dr Weir, what are you doing here?" Beckett suddenly became stern. "I thought I told you to get some sleep."

Weir looked worriedly at Beckett. "I know, I know. But you didn't call and I wanted to know what was happening and so I…" She gestured around the infirmary "came here to see him."

Beckett smiled sympathetically at Weir's concern. He placed his arm forward as an invite to enter the intensive care unit. Weir smiled gratefully and walked into the small room.

Once inside, she took one look at Sheppard and let out a horrified gasp. There were several machines monitoring her vitals so the room appeared to be crowded. The colonel himself lay in the myriad of wires, eyes closed and still. A cannula obscured part of his face as did the bandage on his forehead. Apart from the dark bruises marring his face, he was deathly pale. Only the soft, steady beeping of the heart monitor connected to Sheppard gave her any reassurance that he was alive. She could not remember Sheppard ever looking so weak and fragile in any of his other trips to the infirmary. Turning to Beckett uncertainly, she said quietly. "What is the extent of his injuries, Carson?"

Beckett gave her a small, reassuring smile. "I know he looks bad, but I assure you, he's a lot better than he was. The bullet that went through his leg, did some damage to the bone as it went through. It took the orthopaedist a little more time than we thought to set his leg. That's why we hadn't called you yet." Weir looked at Beckett guiltily. "Other than that, he has a head injury with a concussion, the shoulder that you did an exceptional job cleaning, a few broken ribs which caused some damage to his lungs, and on top of that, severe bruising over his body. One of the broken ribs caused quite a lot of internal damage which made him lose a lot of blood." He shook his head, not quite believing Sheppard was still with them. "Needless to say, we need a line-up of donors to replenish our stores.

Weir nodded slowly and approached Sheppard, placing a hand on his arm. An IV line snaked its way up his arm and his arm was secured to a board to prevent the line from being pulled out. Beckett walked over to stand next to Weir and put an arm on her shoulder. "I should tell you, Dr. Weir, that the Colonel has suffered quite a lot of damage and because of that, his body has slipped into a coma to try and help relieve the stress on his healing body. I'm afraid it's not certain that he'll wake up any time soon, if at all."

Weir nodded again, lost for words. She reached up and stroked Sheppard's face before recoiling sharply. "He's so cold." She gasped softly, finding a blanket on a nearby chair and placing it over Sheppard.

"Aye, we've already placed a thermal blanket underneath the sheets but it hasn't done any good yet." Beckett said.

Behind them, the infirmary doors opened, making Weir and Beckett whirl around as they were greeted by the sound of a commotion.

Standing in the doorway with concerned and worried looks on their face, were Mckay, Teyla, Ronon and Lorne. They all also looked a little angry, Mckay in particular. "I thought you said you'd call us when he was able to have visitors." Mckay moaned indignantly. "We were getting a little worried, y'know?"

Beckett looked a little uncomfortable at Mckay's outburst. "I'm sorry, laddie, but we only finished a few minutes ago and I was just talking to Elizabeth." Weir smiled slightly nervously. "I was going to contact you after our conversation but it appears you didn't give me a chance."

Mckay looked a little put out and he quietly said, "Well, can we go in and see him now." He looked at Beckett imploringly.

"Aye, sure laddie, go on through. But don't cause any trouble." Mckay glared at him. Beckett ignored him and turned to Weir. "I'll be in my office if you need me at all." He smiled tiredly at her.

"Thank you Carson." Weir replied, warmth emblazoning her voice. "Please, go get some rest. I'm sure you haven't had much sleep in a long while."

Beckett nodded unconvincingly in reply and shuffled away toward his office. Smiling apprehensively at the others, she led them through to the room Sheppard was currently occupying.

As she took her place in the chair next to his bed, she heard the group behind her give a collective gasp. Smiling sadly at their loyal response, she turned to face them; one of her hand's clasped with Sheppard's. "Dr. Beckett assures me that it is not as bad as it looks." Mckay looked at her in disbelief. "I know Rodney, I'm not sure I believe it myself but at least he's alive." Teyla and Lorne nodded enthusiastically and even Ronon appeared to brighten up considerably at the simple sentence.

"Did Beckett tell you when he expects Sheppard to start to wake up?" Lorne asked curiously.

Weir faltered slightly, her lack of confidence not lost on the others. Ronon, Teyla and Lorne lost their smiles and Mckay looked downright scared. Seeing this, Weir thought quickly to find the gentlest way to tell them. "Beckett said it could be anything from a few days to…a few weeks or months or…" she paused, unable to go on, but Ronon finished for her.

"Never?" he asked softly. Weir nodded, seeming unable to speak. A gentle tear rolled down her face which she made no attempt to hide from the others as she could see they were going through the same emotions she was.

The small room was entrapped in an uncomfortable silence for several minutes, until Mckay jumped in alarm. Everyone else turned and looked at him, surprised and he smiled embarrassedly and activated his earpiece. "This is Mckay, what can I do for you, Zelenka?" The room returned to silence as Mckay listened to the response. After a few moments, he nodded animatedly and said, "Alright, sure, we'll be right there." He gestured to the door with his head and the other three sent questioning looks at him. "Zelenka wants to discuss some ancient artefact with us. Come on, I said we'd be right there."

Ronon frowned at him and crossed his arms defiantly. "And why do we have to come?"

Mckay sighed heavily and nodded at Weir and Sheppard. He rolled his eyes at Ronon as if he was stupid.

"Oh, alright, we'll come" said Teyla, cottoning on quickly. She propelled the other three out before turning back to Weir "it is good that he is not alone. Talk to him. It may help to bring him around." She gently squeezed Weir's free hand then left after the men's retreating backs.

Now alone with Sheppard, she felt her emotions welling up inside her. "Come on John, you can't give up on us you know. Who will I play chess with when Caldwell isn't here?" She asked, trying to inject some humour into the situation. The room lapsed into silence as Weir stared at the man lying beside her. She didn't know how Sheppard had become so important to her, but in the time since the beginning of the expedition, he had become her best friend. Apart from Beckett, she thought no-one knew her as well as Sheppard did. They relied so heavily on each other as well, she was always worried when he left on a mission, and his eyes automatically searched for her when he came home. She had often wondered if it was an entirely voluntary movement, and she had a feeling it wasn't.

Stroking Sheppard's unruly hair, she smiled at the thoughts of their previous chess match. She wasn't sure why, but he alone bought out a playful, teasing side to her that she rarely ever saw in herself. The rumour mill had a lot of speculation about the two of them but Weir had never considered the validity of those rumours.

Sure, she was attracted to Sheppard; there wasn't a woman in Atlantis who couldn't say that they had a little crush on John Sheppard. After all, he had the good looks, the charm and the flyboy attitude that could make most women fall for him. She saw the way he talked to them, charming, good-naturedly. But it never seemed to compare to how he behaved to her when the two of them were alone. She knew there was something there between them that heralded potential, but she knew that they both liked where they were now, and both knew that the relationship possibly existed somewhere down the line and were comfortable with that. Weir took her hand away to relieve the cramp in her fingers. Sheppard may have been unconscious but he still had a tight grip. She looked away briefly and sighed contentedly. For now, she was just happy with the moments she got with Sheppard and with the comfort she felt when he was around.

From behind her, she heard a small whimper. Whirling quickly around to face the bed, she saw Sheppard looking disturbed and frightened, a deep frown set on his face. He was having a nightmare, Weir concluded sadly, noticing that his hand was attempting to grasp the support of Weir's hand that he had had moments ago. The IV board prevented him from moving his hand too much, and this unknown obstacle made him get increasingly frustrated as he slept. Reaching down to grasp hold of his hand, she felt him settle back into his nightmare, seemingly having an object to now hold on to.

Seeing Sheppard settle deeper into unconsciousness, Weir felt her own eyes start to droop and, reluctantly, she laid her head next to Sheppard's chest and allowed herself to be enveloped by the encroaching sleep and nightmares.

The next few days passed with very little change in Sheppard's condition. He still remained in a deep state of unconsciousness, only seeming to respond at all if he lost contact with his anchor with consciousness. Because of this, it meant that someone had to be with him at all times but it was not difficult to find volunteers as there were many people wishing to pay tribute to their ranking military officer. The infirmary got so busy that Beckett had to restrict visits and turn people away. Through these days, Sheppard's team, Lorne and Weir fought to keep their worry and fear under wraps whilst going about their normal business in Atlantis. Beckett was getting annoyed with the constant requests for updates and curtly requested they restrict their questions. Weir often checked up on Sheppard herself, visiting him for an hour during her lunch break and sitting with him, talking about what was happening in the city and what annoying thing Mckay was up to at the moment. After she finished her work in the control tower and observed the changeover to the nightshift staff, she would take her laptop to the infirmary and complete her work by his bedside, until she fell asleep next to him.

Six days after they returned to Atlantis, Weir awoke slowly to see Beckett worriedly fussing with the medical equipment attached to Sheppard, a concerned frown set deep on his face.

Scared, Weir raised her head over Sheppard's chest and said quietly, "what's wrong, Carson?"

Beckett jumped, as he hadn't realised that Weir was awake. Her hazel eyes were wide with fear and she surveyed him apprehensively, somehow not wanting to know the answer.

Beckett sighed reproachfully and walked over to her, sitting down heavily on the edge of the bed. He was silent for a moment, trying to find the delicate words needed to explain. "I had hoped to see an improvement in Colonel Sheppard's condition by now. His body seems to be healing well, but he is showing no change in brain activity." He paused to allow Weir to speak, but she stayed silent. "I had thought that by now we would have seen some improvement, but the results seem to indicate…" he trailed off, waving helplessly.

"That his body has no intention of waking up." Weir said in a monotone, staring at the ground.

Beckett nodded sadly. "We may have overlooked signs of potential brain damage. I'll run some tests to see if we didn't miss anything. But…it may just be that this is one battle his body can't beat."

A small tear slid down Weir's face and more threatened to spill out, but she tried to blink them away, tried to be strong for him, just as he would be strong for her. She looked up at Beckett, forcing a smile on her face. "We can't completely give up hope, can we?" she said calmly. "I mean, there's always a chance, isn't there?" It was more of a statement than a question, but she still looked up at Beckett for reassurance.

"Aye, lass." Beckett replied with a smile of his own. He patted her shoulder reassuringly, took one last look at the seemingly peaceful Sheppard and walked over to his office, greeting Teyla as she entered the infirmary. Teyla smiled warmly to Weir as she took Beckett's vacated seat.

"How is he?" she asked, looking at the monitors around the room.

"Same" said Weir simply. She looked at her watch. It read 09:50. Crap, she had a briefing to go that was supposed to have started five minutes previously. She looked at Teyla, realising that she was here to take her place. Giving her silent promise to come back, she slipped her hand out of his grasp. Sheppard frowned in his sleep, anxious over his loss of contact, but Teyla swooped in and picked up his hand, and he settled back into sleep.

Giving one last, caring look at Sheppard, she turned tail and jogged quickly to the conference room, activating her earpiece to inform Mckay and Zelenka that she was running a little late.

"That's alright, Doctor Weir, we don't mind." Zelenka said; his friendly voice as optimistic as ever. In the background, she could hear Mckay sighing impatiently. As the radio conversation concluded, she noted to herself that Mckay's lack of sleep was starting to rub off on him and that she should remind people that they shouldn't cross him. With that thought, she quickened her pace, and ran toward the gate room.

That evening, Weir was in her usual seat next to Sheppard, reading reports on her data pad, made slightly difficult by the fact that one hand was firmly clasped with Sheppard's.

The infirmary was quite busy again as Ronon, Teyla and Lorne were once again talking to Beckett just outside of Sheppard's room. Looking over at them, she was wondering where Mckay had gotten to when he came bustling through the doors of the infirmary.

He looked terrible. There were bags under his eyes and his hair looked almost as untidy as Sheppard's normally did. In his hand, he had a large mug of coffee, and Weir could tell that that was the only thing keeping him from completely falling apart.

Storming over to Beckett, he looked extremely irritated and, added to his look; he appeared as though he was completely crazy.

"Beckett, I want this cast off. Now" Mckay snapped shortly. The others in the group looked at him in surprise and amazement and then abruptly burst into laughter. This just made Mckay more annoyed and he erupted into a lengthy explanation. "One: I have an itch that's been bugging me all day. Two: I can't get any work done with it on."

Beckett held up his hand to stop Mckay's flood of words. "I can't laddie, not until it is fully healed." He shot Mckay a commiserating look before bursting into a fit of chuckles.

Mckay began to get increasingly frustrated at his friends laughter at his expense, until he snapped and started to complain loudly at Beckett's treatment of patients.

Weir was not listening to Mckay's tirade however, as she had noticed that the soft, constant beeping of Sheppard's heart monitor, that she had got used to, had changed rhythm. Concerned, she turned to look at him and gasped.

He was looking back at her.

His eyes were squinting due to the bright lights of the infirmary and their lack of use. His normally bright eyes were dulled by pain and the long sleep he had gone through.

Staring at her, he gave her hand a weak squeeze. He opened his mouth, licking his dry lips, and said hoarsely, barely more than a whisper, "Do you think Mckay could shut up a little? Some of us are trying to sleep over here."

Though very quiet, his statement had the desired effect. The groups' heads snapped towards him and they all rushed over to him, relief etched over their faces.

"Hey" Weir breathed, a smile spreading over her face. She shifted slightly to give Sheppard a clearer view of the room, exposing his face to the bright light directly behind her. He gasped weakly and closed his eyes. "Sorry" she said softly, motioning for the others to dim the lights. When Sheppard reopened his eyes, he sighed softly and turned to face Weir.

"Are you okay?" He asked hoarsely, looking at her in concern. Weir laughed at the absurdity of the question, evoking a confused look from Sheppard. Realising he was being serious, she was touched.

"I'm fine John. Better, now that you're awake." Their eyes locked and they shared happy, relieved smiles, which got a groan from Mckay.

"Can we leave the soppy stuff till later, please?" He grumbled, receiving a punch from Ronon. "What? You, Lorne and Teyla are dying to know what happened on the planet. Elizabeth said she'd wait till Sheppard woke up and now he has, we should be able to get to hear it." There were agreeing cheers to Mckay's suggestion and he raised his eyebrows smugly.

Weir looked at Sheppard, smiling mysteriously. He knew she was torn. She was desperate to tell their story, as she didn't get many chances to have a story to tell. But he knew she didn't want him over-exerting himself and that she was worried that he would tire himself out.

Before Sheppard could respond, Beckett stepped forward and promptly started to check Sheppard over. "I'm not sure it's such a good idea when Sheppard has only just woken up. I don't want him to tire himself out and prevent his healing."

"Hey, doc" Sheppard shortly whispered. "How about Weir tells the story and I give some input?" He gave a pleading look at Beckett and subtly indicated Weir, who had a small, hopeful look in her eyes.

"Alright, lad, but don't make it too long. And no acting it out." He turned to leave but hesitated. Turning back, he returned to his original seat and slyly said "I should observe the proceedings to make sure Sheppard is o.k." He looked at them sheepishly and the whole room dissolved into laughter.

Sheppard's laughter, weak and quiet though it was, was music to Weir's ears. Even when his laughter turned into a fit of coughing, and she helped him drink a glass of water and rubbed his back softly, she was so relieved and still could not quite believe that he was alive and well after everything they had gone through.

After Sheppard's breathing had returned to normal and he had settled back into his pillows, he took hold of Weir's hand and gave her a nervous nod so she could begin.

Beckett, Lorne, Mckay, Ronon and Teyla were a very good audience. They were silent and attentive and even Mckay kept his comments to a minimum. They were so hooked on Weir and Sheppard's story that they were willing to wait patiently while Sheppard coughed uncontrollably every once in a while.

An hour later, Weir finished with the puddle jumper entering the stargate to Atlantis, and the story concluded. Everyone shifted painfully, trying to get some feeling back after they had sat still for a long time.

Mckay straightened up and frowned. "Hey. You left something out. You never told us about the bug thing."

Weir smiled at Mckay's persistence and turned to Sheppard. Somewhere along the story-telling, he had fallen asleep and they hadn't noticed. He looked so peaceful and content.

Weir looked up at Mckay and shrugged. "Sorry Rodney, it's not my place to tell you and I don't think we should wake Sheppard up just to ask him, do you?"

Mckay sighed but nodded. Beckett checked on Sheppard one last time and yawning slightly, he herded the others out, ordering them all to get some rest.

Again, she was alone at Sheppard's side. But she knew that she was not really alone and that Sheppard wasn't going anywhere, not this time.

Yawning sleepily, she smiled to herself. As she laid her head next to his, she thought to herself that they still had a long time to explore their strange situation.

With that last thought circling her mind, she allowed herself to fall into the first peaceful sleep in a while, free from her nightmares.


	15. Epilogue

_Here it is! The last chapter. Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed._

**Epilogue.**

"Are you sure you're ready for this, John?" Weir cautiously said as she and Major Lorne came to join the already crowded puddle jumper.

"I'd better be, because this can't wait anymore." Sheppard shortly replied, turning to look at her.

It had been a week since Sheppard had awoken from the coma, and just two and a half weeks since the near-fatal incident had occurred.

Since he had awoken, he had made a gradual improvement. Two days in, he was allowed to remove the cannula as Beckett had decided that his lungs had healed enough to breath on their own. Two days after that, he was allowed to leave the infirmary for a few hours. Armed with crutches, he quickly hopped through the city, ignoring both the pain in his still-healing shoulder and the protests from the muscles all over his body. Entering the gate room, his face fell as he remembered the stairs he needed to climb to get to the control room. He never remembered there ever being so many.

Careful not to fall over, he slowly pulled himself up each step, glaring at the technicians who were desperately trying to prevent themselves from laughing.

Reaching the last step, he stopped for breath for a moment. He smiled mischievously as he saw Weir was in her office. He had a plan.

Hopping through the control room (accidentally on purpose treading on several feet), he stopped just inside Weir's office and leant against the doorframe. He grinned as he realised she hadn't noticed him. She was so engrossed in what was on her data pad.

Taking in a deep breath, he calmly and loudly said, "What 'cha doing?"

Weir let out a gasp and jumped backwards on her chair. It overbalanced and she started to fall backwards.

Sheppard stuck out a crutch to steady the chair and she let out a breath of relief, and looked up at him, glaring.

"Why do you always do that to me?" she moaned.

Sheppard hopped over and sat down opposite to her. He sent her an innocent look, and calmly replied, "'cause you are such an easy mark." He smiled playfully and Weir's resolve melted away.

"Well, next time, I will be more prepared." She said, playfully winking at him.

Sheppard grinned back. This was getting interesting. However the moment was broken as Mckay, Teyla and Ronon sauntered in.

Shooting daggers at them, Sheppard turned his attention on to his team and surveyed them. They all looked a lot better than they did four days earlier and Mckay almost looked like a new man compared to the living zombie Sheppard saw when he first woke up. They all sat there looking at him intently, patiently waiting for him to say something, Mckay fidgeting a little.

Confused, Sheppard looked over at Weir for the answer. She had her fist clenched over her mouth and was desperately trying not to laugh.

Getting frustrated, Sheppard glared at the group feeling as if he was the subject of an amusing yet cruel joke. "What?" He asked, authority lacing his voice. When no-one answered, he turned to Mckay, who was having a hard time keeping his mouth shut.

"Mckay," Sheppard growled threateningly, sending his best 'I'm in charge' glare in Mckay's direction.

Mckay whimpered slightly and chose to please Sheppard. "Elizabeth won't tell us the bug story." He blurted out, receiving an elbow from Ronon, "Oww," he whined.

Sheppard looked at Weir in horror. "You didn't? Please tell me you didn't." He looked at her, his eyes begging.

"Well, it was an accident." Sheppard shook his head at her in disbelief. "I didn't mean to, but certain comments were made and I may have accidentally let slip that something happened." She smiled apologetically and Sheppard let her get away with it.

"So?" Ronon said shortly, recapturing Sheppard's attention. He turned and saw now-impatient faces staring back.

"So what?" Sheppard retorted, glaring at him. He was getting annoyed and his whole body was starting to tire and ache.

Mckay looked as annoyed as Sheppard. "Well? Aren't you going to tell us what happened?" He whined, looking at Ronon and Teyla for their support.

Sheppard shakily stood up and leaned on his crutches. "Y' know, I'm feeling a little tired so if you don't mind, we can pick this up another time that's not… now." He said, taking a few hops to the door. Ronon walked past him and blocked his way out of the office.

"Don't think you're getting away that easy Sheppard." He smirked, nodding at Mckay, "We've waited for this for quite a while and you are going to tell us."

Sheppard sighed heavily and looked at Weir, begging for a miracle. She smiled in amusement. As if answering his pleas, Weir's headset activated and Beckett's voice came over the radio.

"Doctor Weir, is Sheppard with you?" Doctor Beckett's Scottish brogue came through strong and he sounded pissed off.

"Uh, yes he is Carson," replied Weir, grinning at Sheppard's look of relief, "was there something you wanted?"

"Yes." Beckett irritably responded, "Colonel Sheppard was supposed to have returned to the infirmary twenty minutes ago." Sheppard looked at his watch and grinned. He had found a way out. "Tell John if he does not return immediately, I'll come along with a gurney and he'll spend the next week in restraints."

"That's not necessary, Doc." Sheppard cut in. "I'll be there as fast as I can hop."

Sheppard nodded to Weir and Teyla, who looked thoroughly amused, and turned to Ronon and Mckay smugly. "Sorry guys, but I'm wanted in the infirmary." He said, indicating for Ronon to move aside. Ronon grudgingly obliged.

Hopping out of the office, he heard Mckay moan "If he isn't going to tell us, I think you should Elizabeth. We can't not hear a story like that."

"Rodney, if John doesn't want to tell you, I'm not going to go over his head." Elizabeth loyally responded.

Hearing Mckay go into a defeated tirade, Sheppard smiled happily. It seemed as though the horrors of the past fortnight were melting away into memory, and the wounds were healing, both physical in his case, and emotional in everyones'. But something in the back of his mind was nagging him that he had forgotten something. Shaking it off, he continued his long trip to the infirmary. Knowing Beckett, he'd probably have a long time to think about what was wrong.

-----

Over the next three days, Beckett restricted visitors as he was becoming increasingly concerned over Sheppard's emotional state. He sat in his bed, brooding for hours at a time and had a habit for snapping at people for no apparent reason. On the hours he was allowed out of the infirmary, he went over the Davaros mission reports of everyone involved and told everyone to leave him alone.

Which was why it was a surprise when Sheppard hopped into the conference room for the daily briefing the next morning. As he took his seat next to Weir, the others stared at him nervously.

"What?" he frowned. He glared at each of them in turn, making them shrug and avert their gaze.

Sheppard sat in silent contemplation as the details of the meeting were exchanged and the topics were discussed. Through this time he noticed that Weir kept looking at him, worry lining her eyes.

Finally, it seemed as though the debriefing was coming to an end. As everyone stretched and yawned, Weir looked around at the group, noticing that Sheppard was still looking stony faced and staring down. About to dismiss the group, she looked around. "Anyone have anything to add?" she asked dismissively, not really expecting to get a response as everything had been covered in the briefing.

"Uh…er…yes." Sheppard quietly said, raising his hand apprehensively, "I kinda have a request."

Weir looked at Sheppard's team in surprise, and they reciprocated with their own worried looks. They had never heard Sheppard so nervous or awkward.

When Sheppard remained silent, Weir stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "What is it?" she asked, encouragingly patting his arm.

Looking up at her, he tried to gather his courage. "Um…I would like to request a security escort and a return trip to Davaros…" he trailed off quietly, still caught in her gaze.

"John…" she began cautiously, but she was cut off by Mckay.

"Are you crazy Colonel? You're living evidence that that's a really bad idea." Mckay looked at Teyla and Ronon, and they reluctantly nodded their support.

Sheppard looked away and frowned. "The last few days, I've been wondering why. I just need to know why they sold us out."

"Does it matter?" Mckay raised his voice. "All we have to know is that we shouldn't go back there."

Sheppard sighed heavily and heaved himself to his feet. "I'm sorry to have asked." He muttered, and he left the conference room. He turned as he reached the stairs and looked at his concerned and confused friends, "But think about it, if they were so bad and had harmful intentions, why did they give us a fighting chance with that pill?" When he didn't receive an answer, he nodded knowingly and hopped down the gate room steps.

-----

Later that morning, Sheppard was in the infirmary with War and Peace lying face down on his chest. He had his eyes closed and as Weir walked into the infirmary, she thought he had fallen asleep.

She took a place by his bedside and took hold of his hand. Sighing, she reached up and ran her fingers through his hair to calm her nerves.

"I'm not asleep y'know." He smiled quietly. Startled, she moved her hand away and looked down. "Well?" he said, squeezing her hand. "What did they say?"

"Well, we've been talking about it all morning and, apart from Mckay, we think that the mission does need some sense of closure. You have an authorised go on the mission, Colonel." She looked at him and smiled.

Sheppard grinned back and reached over to hug her. When they broke apart, Weir looked uncomfortable and said slowly, "and I'll be coming too."

Sheppard stared at her, surprised. "Are you sure that's a good idea. I mean, I could be completely wrong. I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"With the security detail, we will be quite safe, and if something goes wrong, we'll be more prepared for it." Weir looked at him with a defiant stare, and Sheppard knew he wasn't going to back down.

"O.k. but you have to at least take a 9mm with you, just in case."

"Fine John, but I'm sure everything will be fine." Weir compromised. Standing up, she retook hold of his hand and said "the mission is scheduled for 1500 hours. Meet us in the jumper bay, o.k.?"

-----

Sitting in the pilot's chair of the jumper, Sheppard looked over at Weir. She was fiddling with the fabric on his crutches. Feeling his eyes on her, she looked over at him and smiled nervously.

It was quiet in the jumper and Sheppard knew they were all apprehensive about the mission. Looking over at Weir again, she nodded the go-ahead, and Sheppard quickly dialled Davaros before she could change her mind.

As the ship lowered into the gate room, he noticed Mckay looking at them stonily. His eyes looked downright scared. Zelenka was at his side, looking hopefully at them and smiling optimistically.

Nodding comfortingly, Sheppard steered the ship in to the wormhole.

-----

As they landed on the outskirts of the town, a horrifying scene met their eyes. The town was largely destroyed with just a few buildings standing. Among the wreckage, a small amount of people were walking around as if in a daze. Moving around all the people, the mayor of Davaros reconciled with everyone he passed. Alexria was sitting on the ground holding two of her daughters in a death grip, a lost mourning look clouding her eyes. Sheppard could only conclude that their eldest daughter had been taken, as with their son and heir as he was not in the group.

Hopping out of the puddle jumper, Sheppard and the group made a slow progression toward the leader of the devastated town. Major Lorne and the security force had their weapons held high to show their defence.

Reaching the mayor, Sheppard cleared his throat pointedly. Turning, the mayor paled at the sight of the group. He fell to his knees and looked up at them. "Please, Lord John," he begged, "we beg of you, please show mercy."

Sheppard stayed silent for a moment, before quietly saying "Why? Why did you do it?" The mayor looked up at him in surprise, thrown by the question.

Composing himself, he gently stood up. "We were afraid my lord. We knew the wraith were going to come but we didn't know when. After your arrival, we were aware of your importance and so we offered the wraith a deal. I know we betrayed a friendship but we just wanted the wraith to leave us alone."

Sheppard nodded his understanding. "So that's why you gave us the pill. To give us a chance when the wraith got us." He suddenly looked confused. "But…if you dealt with them and gave them what they want, how come this happened?" He indicated to the ruins around him.

"After you escaped from them, they came looking for someone to blame. They settled on us. In the long run, you suffered and it did nothing to help my people. We were foolish to believe the wraith would leave us alone." The mayor looked around, "but we will not despair. We will rebuild our homes, our culture. Maybe, after a while, you will consider us as trading allies again."

Sheppard looked at him sadly. "I don't know. Maybe in time, but it probably won't be for a very long while." The mayor nodded sadly and bowed to them before returning to his people. Looking at the remaining townspeople smiling defiantly, he turned around and hopped back to the puddle jumper. Halfway there, Weir caught up with him, closely followed by the rest of the team.

"Shouldn't we offer them assistance?" Weir enquired, placing a hand on his chest to stop him moving.

Looking down at her, he struggled to find the words to explain. "The Davarians feel that because of what happened, they are…unworthy of our help right now. I think it's best to let them try to forget and move on. Our presence at the moment would keep them from doing that.." He smiled at her surprised look and shrugged slyly at her.

As they moved on, she smiled beautifully. "Sometimes you amaze me Colonel Sheppard." Sheppard handed her the crutches and fell into the pilot seat of the jumper.

He grinned at her, before replying, "I'll do that sometimes, Elizabeth Weir." Locking eyes briefly, Sheppard activated the controls and lifted the puddle jumper into the air, travelling back to the gate.

-----

Sheppard quickly hopped through the corridors of Atlantis. After a week and a half, it was getting easier to get around and his upper muscles were getting a lot stronger. He was moving towards the control tower with a big grin plastered over her face. He had just been released from the infirmary permanently and he wanted to celebrate.

Reaching the gate room, he hopped expertly up the steps and smirked at the gate technicians. Reaching Weir's office, he found it empty. Sighing, he reached up to the shelf and grabbed the chess box.

Clutching the box vainly between his teeth, he hopped over to Weir's desk. Setting up the pieces, he stared at the castle thoughtfully, twirling it in his fingers. Laughing at himself, he tossed the castle away.

Walking in at that moment, Weir caught the chess piece as it flew toward her. "Colonel, I thought you would be getting some post-infirmary relaxation time right now."

Sheppard smiled graciously at her. "Ah, well, I've been sitting on my butt for the last coupl'a weeks, cut me some slack."

Weir laughed gently and took her seat opposite John, placing the castle on the chess board.

Sheppard leaned forward jovially, "So, anything exciting happen while I was y'know… out?" He shrugged dismissively.

"Uh…well, Mckay and Zelenka nearly had a fistfight over some atlantean device. And Ronon and Teyla have been spending a lot more time together. But there have been no incidents. No." Weir smiled suggestively, "Apart from you, of course."

Sheppard leaned on his elbows and pouted at Weir. "So, when do I get returned on active duty?"

Weir looked at him and replied silkily "When you can walk at the very least."

Sheppard frowned and rose shakily. He gingerly poked his foot on the floor. Weir rose quickly, concerned about what was going to happen, and Sheppard smiled, touched.

Leaning heavily on his crutches, he leant on his broken leg. Giving a quickly stifled yelp of pain, he pitched backward and was caught by Weir before he hit the ground. "Ow," he sighed softly.

Looking up at Weir, he let out a muffled "thanks" and pushed himself up on the desk. Falling heavily into his seat, he saw Weir smirking at him.

"Alright, it wasn't that funny," he frowned, sending her his best 'hurt puppy dog' look. "O.k. I get the message, I'll wait. Just don't cut me out of the loop."

"Would I do that, Colonel?" Weir laughed, winking at him.

Sheppard smiled happily back. 'Yep' he thought 'everything's getting back to normal.' He looked carefully at Weir. "You doing anything at the moment?"

Weir narrowed her eyes playfully. "Nothing special, right now. Why?"

Sheppard picked up a black knight and smirked, "wanna have a game of chess?"

Weir nodded slowly. 'Yes' she thought 'everything is getting back to normal and horrors are becoming memory.'

She looked at him, smiling playfully. "Alright."

As she made the first move, she paused suddenly and looked up at him. "You're not ever going to tell Mckay and the others about the bug incident, are you?"

Twitching his nose in mock thought, he grinned at her, "and what? Let them mock me forever? No, I think that's one story we'll keep to ourselves, thanks."

They sat playing in comfortable silence for a few moments, until Weir smiled softly.

"Coward!"

**The end**

**-----**


End file.
